Doom Reversed
by Julia Irian
Summary: What if on Doomsday, Rose and the Doctor's roles had been switched? If he, after trying to send her to the parallel world, actually gets stuck there himself? With the TARDIS her only hope, what will Rose become to get her Doctor back? Meanwhile, in the parallel world, the Torchwood team gets a new recruit... [Now Complete!]
1. Changes

**Chapter 1 – Doom Reversed**

Rose hung on for dear life. Her arms strained against the magnetic clamps, her hair whizzing around her face, hundreds and thousands of Daleks and Cybermen rushing past her into the deep, waiting Void. Her eyes kept searching for the Doctor, hanging on to a clamp opposite her. Flinching from the wind and noise, she tried to smile. They'd found a way. He wasn't getting rid of her so easily. She'd told him she was going to stay with him forever, and that was that.

The Doctor was looking back, straining against the force of the pull, his face creased in worry. Suddenly, the lever in front of him started being pushed backwards. Very slowly, it gave in to the rushing energy vortex. "OFFLINE", the computer's voice announced. Rose watched in horror as the Doctor let go of the clamp and reached toward the lever. "HOLD ON!" she yelled over the noise. "DON'T! DOCTOR!"

He slowly let go of the clamp, and fell forwards. He barely held on to the lever. Rose held her breath and could only stare in blank panic. This could not be happening. He pushed the lever back. "Online and locked," confirmed the computer. He gasped against the strain of the vortex. Cold ice crept around Rose's heart. She knew what was happening, and there was nothing she could do. Time seemed to slow down as his hands slipped. Absolute terror gripped Rose. Her entire body strained against the void, holding on for dear life, frozen in dread for the man she loved. "NO! HOLD ON! DOCTOR!"

"Rose," he said, his voice not reaching her ears.

 _No, no, no, not now, please no_ her mind begged, uselessly. His hands slipped. Yelling her name, he rushed toward the Vortex.

She screamed. Suddenly, Pete appeared back in front of the Vortex. His face registered total shock as the Doctor slammed into him. He couldn't stay, he'd be pulled in. Rose and his eyes locked. She didn't have to think. She let go of the clamp.

The last thing she heard was the sound of the dimension jump as she slammed heavily into the wall. The breach had closed. The Doctor and Pete were gone.

x

Silence settled over the world. In the distance, sirens wailed, and car alarms beeped, but nothing registered for Rose. She slumped against the white office wall, her entire body aching. "No…" she whispered against the lump in her throat. "No," she said, a bit louder. She scrambled to her feet and hit the wall with her hands. "NO," she yelled. "Come back! You can't take him, bring him back!" She hit the wall until her hands hurt even more. Tears streamed freely down her face. She could almost hear his voice in her ears, whispering her name. She pressed her ear against the wall, but there was only dumb silence. She was alone.

She did not know how much time passed. She heard the building around her slowly coming to life; there were people around, somewhere. She registered that everything hurt: her head, her arms, her chest… she would take away some heavy bruises, and might have a concussion from the collision with the wall. But all of that seemed dull and unimportant right now. The pain in her heart tore at her. He had said it before: The breach would be closed, there was no way back.

Finally, she pushed herself away from the wall, and wiped away a few tears. She didn't want to meet people, least of all anyone connected to Torchwood. But there was still the TARDIS. The last time she had been stranded with that magnificent ship, she'd found a solution, too. She'd find one now. A steely resolution formed in her heart. She would not give up so easily. She ran down the stairs, ignoring the people she saw on the way, rushing to get to her home. She found the TARDIS where she'd left it earlier, it seemed like ages ago. After brushing her sleeve over her eyes again, trying to see through blurred tears, she fumbled with her key and stepped inside.

It was nearly dark. A low, orange glow was all that illuminated the console room. Rose was suddenly assaulted by the smell of the place, so unique and familiar. The Doctor's scent lingered. The most acute pain began slowly creeping up her body, creating a lump in her throat. She stared at the consoles, the many buttons, levers, handles and dead lights, and felt a wave of complete uselessness hit her. She had no idea what to do with the ship, and she had no one to ask, no one to help her. The TARDIS seemed like it was dead without the Doctor. Maybe it was. What was she thinking?

Rose ran past the time rotor and down a corridor to her room. There, she curled up on the bed, and, utterly exhausted, cried herself to sleep.

x

The Doctor heard the sound of a dimension jump, then slammed into a person. He looked straight into the Vortex, seconds before he knew it must consume them both. He turned back and for a split second saw Rose. _"How long are you gonna stay with me?" – "Forever."_ The words echoed through his mind. Her eyes told him what she would do a heartbeat before she let go of the clamp. Then she was gone.

The light was dim and it was completely silent. The Doctor immediately jumped away from Pete and ran toward the wall. "NO! Nonono… this isn't right, what did you do?" He turned to Pete. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Pete's mouth worked like he wanted to say something. He examined his dimension hopper. "It's dead. You did it. The breach is closed." The Doctor stared at the white wall and pressed his hands flat against it. Every sense, every muscle in his body strained against this reality, this universe, this _wrong_ place. He needed to be back, with the TARDIS, with… "Rose," he whispered. His head leaned against the wall. This was it, he realised. He'd never see her again. He had said so himself in his brilliant, brilliant plan. His eyes closed as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. His mind registered only emptiness; neither the TARDIS' nor Rose's calming presence could be felt. His telepathic mind felt like a void without them. What was it Rose had said? "He had to do it all alone, mum, but now he's got me." The Doctor stifled a painful sob. Now he had nobody. He was utterly alone again.

x

Rose awoke to the sensation of her head and entire body aching. She slowly drifted back into consciousness, and for a second, she couldn't remember where she was and what had happened. The sinking realization hit a moment later, and a few more tears escaped her eyes. More like a machine than a human, she stumbled through her room to her sink, to wash her face and drink some water. She stripped out of her stained sweater and pulled a new t-shirt from the wardrobe in the wall. Then she sat down on the edge of her bed, hands resting on her legs, and started thinking.

What would the Doctor do? He would work some magic with the TARDIS, no doubt. Not an option, Rose figured. He'd use his sonic screwdriver on something; also not an option. She sighed heavily, but this time, she refused to give in to self-pity: Whatever happened, the Doctor always _improvised_. This was the first reassuring thought she'd had, and she clung to it. This would keep her going. She laid back on the bed and closed her eyes, focussing on everything he'd ever told her about the TARDIS. They shared a special bond, a telepathic connection; it channelled the Time Vortex – an option Rose filed away under "last resort" for now. It could talk and make itself understood to him somehow, and would sometimes even act of its own volition, it seemed. This ship was probably the greatest enigma in the universe, and it was her only asset in her quest to get her Doctor back.

She stood up and started walking. Not to the control room, but simply through the familiar TARDIS corridors. She wandered to the library, past the giant bathroom-with-pool, past the kitchen and dining room, through the wardrobe… and finally found herself in front of the one door she had never opened. It was large and made out of dark, carved wood, worn with age. Her heart constricted and she took a deep breath. Her hands gripped the handle and turned. She entered the Doctor's room.

It was large. On the far wall bookshelves grew up to the ceiling and she saw a large desk in their midst, littered with books and parchments. On the ground, there was a pile of electronic equipment, with a little space in between where Rose imagined the Doctor must have sat many long nights, tinkering. She let her hands trail over his few belongings, wondering if maybe she'd get a message from him or the TARDIS, somehow telling her what to do. The last time she was trapped alone with the ship, back in her own time, the Doctor had left a message for her, telling her to have a fantastic life. But that had been his plan, he had prepared that; this time, there was no plan, and no message.

Finally, she laid down on the large bed, encased in a strange four-poster construction not unlike the coral pillars in the console room. A stab went through her heart as his scent enveloped her. Despite his insistence that he didn't need much sleep, his bed felt like he did at least lie in it regularly. Rose buried her face in the pillow and breathed in. Her thoughts were filled with the Doctor, and she focused her entire being on him. _Please,_ she thought, _I need help, I can't do this on my own… I miss him so much. Please…_

 _Rose,_ someone whispered.

Her eyes snapped open. A shiver went down her spine. She sat up abruptly and looked around. Was there a message from him, a hologram? No… the voice had been too vague. Something about it felt strange, but also eerily familiar. The air seemed to thicken. Was it warmer in here? The faint hum of the TARDIS seemed to grow in intensity.

 _Rose_.

Rose looked around, and softly placed a hand on the wall. It couldn't be, could it?

 _Rose, help._

"TARDIS …?" Rose almost whispered, incredulous.

 _People will come looking. People who know about us. We need to leave._

The voice was clearly in her head this time, and Rose had no doubt. The TARDIS was actually speaking to her. It sounded disembodied and distant, but Rose felt a clear sense of urgency. Right, she thought, they were still in Torchwood, and as far as Rose was concerned, they were the enemy; they were responsible for this whole mess. They would not get their hands on the TARDIS.

"But… I… don't know how," she said. "I cannot fly you like the Doctor can. And he's gone."

 _I've felt it._ There was a sadness in her thoughts. _No one else can do it. You need to learn,_ the TARDIS continued sadly. _There is no other way. I need you, Rose Tyler._

"How? I don't even speak his language, and half the things on the consoles are in weird swirly symbols!" Rose jumped off the bed. She walked back in the direction of the console room, looking faintly at the wall and the ceiling as she walked.

 _I can teach you. You need to look into the time vortex._

Rose stopped dead in her tracks. "What? But the last time I did that, it nearly killed me. It killed him!"

 _There is no other way. Trust me._

Rose slowly walked on. She had a weird feeling in her stomach. The TARDIS was so _alien_ , and now there was this unearthly voice in her mind, not soothing, not welcoming, only urging and insistent. Rose felt uncomfortable. Was this really the TARDIS speaking to her, or some kind of leftover Cybermen or Dalek mind control? How could she be sure this was even real? Maybe she was hallucinating, out of grief. Maybe she would be stuck in this phone box forever, going insane.

She plopped down on the pilot seat, looking around. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" she demanded. She felt a slight fear creep into her. She suddenly felt very alone, and at the mercy of a ship that was, for all intents and purposes, alive. She felt the TARDIS' panic, and wondered whether the machine would recognize her frailty as something worth protecting; if it meant getting the Doctor back, who was she? She was only human, after all.

The TARDIS seemed to hesitate. Rose had a feeling she was reading the general gist of her thoughts. _Rose Tyler, you are the only one who can find him and bring him back. I would not wish you harm._

That sounded reasonable, Rose thought. But then, the Doctor never really _wished_ anyone harm either. But being with him invariably brought people into harm's way. Including herself, her mother, Mickey… Like Queen Victoria and many others, Rose had to face the truth: Being with the Doctor was hazardous to the extreme. Not only because it brought them into harm's way, but also because being with him made people reckless. Daring. Rose knew herself that she would do things for him that she would never have considered. He made people want to impress him.

He knew it, but often disregarded it. He had such a knack of getting out of almost any situation, that he sometimes forgot the people around him weren't unbreakable or endlessly resourceful. What if the TARDIS was the same? She could be desperate to get her pilot back – as was Rose, really – but would she take heed of Rose's well-being or, for that matter, sanity?

But thinking about the Doctor's many exploits, Rose felt a sharp ache in her chest. His smile flashed before her inner eye. His big, brown eyes, staring intensely at her. His warm embrace, his infectious enthusiasm. She needed that man back. Since when wouldn't she do _anything_ to save him? Even if it cost her everything?

The TARDIS hummed softly around her. _Rose_ , it whispered again, _you have looked into the time vortex before. We are connected. I need you. And so does our Doctor._

The urgency and need grabbed hold of Rose now. Yes, we need our Doctor back, she thought. She jumped off the seat. "Okay, then, TARDIS, how is looking into the time vortex different now than before? Can you protect me?"

 _I will shield you, Rose Tyler. But you will need to change._

"Change? How?"

 _You need to become like him. You need his knowledge, his abilities._ Rose's eyes widened. After a small pause, the TARDIS added, _I do not know how you will react to this change. I do not know how long it can last. But you will live, and you will find him. We can bring him back._

The voice was crystal clear this time. Rose understood. She might take permanent damage. She might die. But she would find the Doctor first, and that was all that mattered. She saw an image in her mind's eye, herself, dying in the Doctor's arms. She realised with a pang that even that was better than living on without him. She couldn't use the TARDIS as she was now, and she had no one else in the world. Her entire family – that included the Doctor – was trapped in the parallel universe, and if she didn't try to save them, who would? This was probably her only shot at fixing this.

"Okay, then," Rose stood up straight and looked at the time rotor. Her breathing quickened as the decision was made. She tried to sound braver than she felt. "What do I do?"

 _Look, Rose Tyler. Look into my heart…_

A golden glow began slowly spreading from the console. Rose walked around it to find the opening in the pillar she knew would be there now. Calmness took over, all fear forgotten. She knew what she had to do. The glow became more intense. She faced the heart of the TARDIS and breathed in deeply. Suddenly, memories flashed before her.

Mickey and the tow truck. The voice of the Dalek Emperor.

 _I can see everything… but why do they hurt…?_

Clarity spread through her, the fog of memory lifting. She had never remembered this much about it. It had always been a blur. As the golden glow from the TARDIS enveloped her, everything came back to her. The destruction of the Daleks by her hand. Jack. _I bring life… I want you safe. My Doctor._ Her Doctor. Rose remembered everything now, as if she lived it again. His lips gently pressed on hers. So even back then, she thought wistfully… She could almost feel it again. Longed for it.

The golden glow suffused her body. She felt light-headed and dizzy, as the power spread its tendrils though her. Her feet seemed to leave the floor, her arms spread out. She glanced at her body. Everything was covered in a golden mist. A tingling worked its way through every vein, every bone, and every atom of her existence. She gasped. The TARDIS was glowing brightly, the humming growing louder and louder. She clenched her eyes shut against the light. Somewhere, Rose registered a console exploding. She felt ready to burst with power. It continued growing. Her head ached. It seemed to expand. Pain shot through her body. "Stop, please…" she heard herself whimper. Tears began rolling down her face, cooling her burning skin.

The TARDIS was relentless, though. No soothing voice made its way into her mind. The pain got worse and worse, and every gut feeling told her that she would die from this.

Her body would give in, she reached a breaking point, this plan would fail. But all of a sudden…

…she felt something in her mind _change._ The flood of power remained strong, but now channelled itself somehow through her brain. She felt herself harden, steadying, her feet touching the ground again. She breathed in deeply and let out a sigh as her entire being readjusted itself. Her body was cooling down, noticeably so. She sank to the floor in exhaustion. Her head and body were pulsing with a dull ache. But her foggy mind began to clear and she opened her eyes to her new existence.

Rose tried to orientate herself, and reached out to the console. Suddenly, she was assaulted by all kinds of sensory input. She could feel _everything._ Each little sound in the TARDIS, which before had been just a jumbled noise, was now distinguishable. She could smell the time vortex transformation in the air. She could feel herself, changed. Her mind seemed to have… grown. Bigger on the inside, Rose thought, and let out a chuckle. Then she abruptly stopped and questioned this response. She was surprised to find herself in a strangely giddy mood all of a sudden. She was bursting with energy. "Wow," she managed, and giggled slightly. A bubble of golden mist burst from her lips and evaporated in the air. Magical, she thought. This was… marvellous. Incredible.

 _It is done,_ came the voice of the TARDIS in her mind. Hearing her suddenly felt natural and easy, and her previous feeling of discomfort had vanished. This was _right. You are ready,_ she said. Was it pride Rose detected? _We need to go,_ she urged.

"Where?" Rose asked. She got up, steadied herself on the console, ready to work its magic. Every button, every label, looked familiar now, as if an entire manual had imprinted itself on her mind.

 _There is a crack,_ the TARDIS said. _The last one. We need to contact the Doctor before it closes. I will set the coordinates._

"You weren't always so helpful and chatty, were you?" Rose raised an eyebrow and felt the giddiness bubble up inside her again. She flicked levers and turned handles. Had the Doctor talked to the TARDIS this much? She didn't think so. The ship seemed to consider her question. _There was no need,_ she replied simply.

"Well, keep it up, because I'll be needing your help aaaaall the way," Rose murmured as she pushed the last lever to kick them into action.

As the TARDIS began its flight to a supernova somewhere in the depths of the universe, Rose began examining herself again. Everything seemed normal now, well, as normal as could be expected. There was no golden glow anymore, no dizziness, no unbridled power surging through her. But there was something… there it was again. She tentatively placed a hand on her chest, and almost flinched. The rhythm was unmistakable. Two hearts were now beating steadily inside Rose Tyler's breast.


	2. Actions

**Chapter 2 - Actions**

"Doctor, if you don't open this door immediately, I will personally kick it down! Do you hear me?"

Jackie Tyler was standing in front of the guest room of the Tyler mansion, both hands on her hips, resolutely staring at the locked door. She meant it. She couldn't take this anymore. The Doctor had been moping for three days, locking himself away most times, and looking like a walking corpse whenever she caught a glimpse of him. He hadn't changed, hadn't eaten and probably wasn't sleeping either. Whilst Jackie had complained long and copiously to Pete and Mickey about the Doctor's behaviour, she was secretly very worried for him. She had never seen him so dejected and hopeless. Usually, it was other people who lost faith, and the Doctor's unwavering optimism brought them around. He always saved the day, saved everyone. Who would save him?

She knew the answer to that of course. Rose had said it herself: He had no one except her. Jackie finally felt like she understood what her daughter had meant. The thought of Rose, trapped all by herself in the middle of the aftermath of Canary Whorf made her throat constrict. It was all she could do not to lose hope, so she pushed the thought aside and banged on the door once again. "Oi! Open up!"

She heard a shuffling in the room. Finally, the Doctor unlocked the door, and opened it a bit. He still looked as haggard as before. "What," he said tonelessly.

"Oh, don't you 'what' me, Doctor!" Jackie pushed in the door and stood to face him. "You will stop this right here, right now. I can't take it anymore. This is hard enough on all of us, all right? You're not helping by being a miserable sod all day!" She prodded him in the chest as she said it. The Doctor looked unmoved. Jackie stared at him until he finally broke eye contact and sighed. He slumped down on the bed. She could basically see his brain churning away, so she waited.

Finally, he looked up. "I heard her, Jackie. I heard Rose call my name."

The sadness in his voice nearly broke her heart. She was going to say something, but he continued. "I think I'm going mental. Why would I hear her call my name?"

Jackie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her oblivious alien. "Well if you haven't figured _that_ out yet, you probably never will." Jackie had long since suspected that Rose was very much in love with her strange travelling companion, and her reckless choice at Canary Whorf confirmed it. She was not sure how the Doctor truly felt about anyone, but if his current state was any indication, he must have cared deeply about her daughter.

He didn't get the hint, though. "Jackie, you don't understand. I _cannot_ hear her because we're in different universes! They're closed off! It's impossible!"

Jackie sighed. "You don't have to tell me that, I was there, remember?" She sat down next to him and tentatively touched his arm. "But are you sure? I mean, if I learnt anything about you it is that nothing is impossible, right? She's got your magic phone box, hasn't she?"

"That's just it! She's with the TARDIS, but she hasn't a clue how to use her!" He raked his hands through his hair, exasperated. "Oh, if only I could tell her something, anything, just how to keep her safe, how to…" he deflated again. "But it's no use. There's no way."

"Yes, there is! There must be!" Jackie gripped him by the shoulders and made him face her. "There's always a way! Hey, what about calling her? Didn't you do something dodgy to her mobile?"

He sighed again. "Tried that. Doesn't work. Not here."

Jackie was quiet for a bit, then tried again. "What if you're wrong, though?" He looked up, and despite his pessimistic mood he showed a little annoyance at this preposterous assumption. Jackie sighed. "About the voice, I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if you're not going mental? What if you can actually hear her, calling for you? Maybe… she has found a way to get through, and you're… you're not answering!"

For the first time, the Doctor seemed to consider this. "Hm. I suppose that's possible… not very likely, but about as likely as me hallucinating."

"There, see?" Jackie slapped his knee. "That's more like it! Now you get out of this suit, have a shower, and then come downstairs for a bit to eat. And then we'll talk about this."

There was no arguing with her this time.

x

Half an hour later, the Doctor came downstairs, hands buried in the pockets of a fresh suit he'd borrowed off Pete. Jackie looked him up and down: he had somehow made it fit his skinny form. Noticing her glance, he shrugged and just said, "I sonicked it," which seemed to put an end to any questions a nosy human could have come up with.

Jackie was in the middle of making a late breakfast. "Pete is off at Torchwood," she said. There was pride and warmth in her voice. She had really taken to 'alternate' Pete, even in this short while. The Doctor sat at the kitchen table and was promptly presented with slightly burned pancakes and a hot mug of tea. He breathed in appreciatively and started nibbling. He finally realised how hungry he was. Jackie smirked, but then sat down with her own mug and became serious.

"Doctor, please pull yourself together, yeah? You're the only one here who can find a way back."

He looked up from his plate and swallowed a last bite of pancake. "But Jackie…"

"No buts, Doctor. You will find something. You always do. And you won't stop looking until you do." It wasn't a question. She sounded strained, almost desperate. "You will get my daughter back."

He looked at her. Since when had Jackie Tyler become more hopeful than he? Since when did she trust him so much? After all, what could he do? He had no TARDIS, no ideas, and no Rose. The thought struck a chord within him. He really did _need_ Rose. Her brilliant ideas, her optimism, her laugh, her smile… She was part of his life, whether he admitted it or not. She belonged with him, and he, in some insane way, belonged with her. A sudden urgency gripped him. Why had he been moping and crying for days? Why was he not out there, trying his utmost to get back where he belonged? He locked eyes with Jackie. "You're right. I have no earthly clue how, but Jackie Tyler, I will get your daughter back." He drained his tea and got up. He had work to do.

x

A few hours and one trip to Torchwood later, the Doctor was back in his room, busily tinkering away on a pile of technical equipment. Jackie got him some tea and purposefully lingered around. She had noticed that the Doctor wasn't a fan of the Torchwood institute – even if it was the parallel universe version. But Pete had been able to help him out with security clearance, and got him the stuff he needed. The Doctor had grudgingly agreed that it was useful to work with them, even if he didn't always agree with their methods. "So, what's all this then?" she asked.

He kept on sonicking whatever it was he was holding. "It's a tracer. Or, at least, it's going to be. I will trace… Rose's voice." He finally looked at Jackie, his eyes unfathomable now. "If it's real, I'll find the source."

Jackie shifted uneasily. "And what then?"

He went back to tinkering, and didn't answer for a moment. Jackie turned to leave; just before she reached the door, he mumbled, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Over the course of the next few weeks, Jackie found out that not sleeping and not eating weren't exactly problems confined to when the Doctor was moping. He was so engrossed in his work now that she had to bring him food in regular intervals and force him to at least lie in bed for an hour each night. She felt like she was suddenly his mother as well. Pete had tried to talk to him, man to man, that sort of thing, but had gotten nowhere. Mickey had offered his help, but the Doctor only laughed in response. So he wasn't moping enough to be beyond taunting Mickey, but she somehow felt consolation that despite everything that had happened, some things never changed.

So he tinkered on, mostly undisturbed, until it was finally time to test his newest contraption. Jackie, Pete and Mickey waited patiently in the kitchen one night, hoping to see what this little piece of electronic hope would accomplish. The Doctor came downstairs with something that looked like it used to be a pair of headphones. Now only one side of them remained, connected to a little wire antennae. If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have looked quite ridiculous. The Doctor had tried it on for fitting earlier, and had actually smiled, seeing himself in the mirror. It occurred to him that Rose would have found this incessantly funny. The pang of sadness that followed this thought turned into resolve. He would talk to her. He would find a way.

Everyone looked at him expectantly. Jackie nearly jumped out of her seat with suspense. "I can hear her voice," he finally brought out. He was not prepared for the very human cheering and hugging that followed. Even Mickey slapped his shoulder appreciatively.

"Okay, so what's gonna happen now," asked Pete.

"Well…" he briefly considered giving them the scientific explanation, spurred by his natural urge to display his superiority. Then he saw their relieved faces, and suddenly understood what they had been going through the past week. They really relied on him to fix everything, somehow.

He sighed. He had to be straight with them. "This thing," he took off the headset and held it out, "interfaces with my mind. I am a telepath," he briefly paused and swallowed, wondering if they were aware of this, and saw Jackie and Pete exchange glances. "So, um, it can send certain information to my mind that I can't access otherwise. I've been hearing Rose," he swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I've been hearing her again and again, but it is faint. This tracer allows me to pinpoint where her voice is coming from."

"So like a compass or something?" Mickey asked.

"Sort of." The Doctor ran one hand through his hair. "It's not very precise, and I don't know how long it will take to find the source, or what I might find when I get there…" he stammered. Suddenly, he was very conscious of the faith they all put in him.

"Oh, never mind that, Doctor," Jackie waved his worries away. "It's the best shot we've got at the moment, yeah?"

"Well, yes."

"What are we waiting for, then? Shall we pack?"

x

Rose was sitting on the floor in the Doctor's room, her back leaning against his bed, a few books gathered around her. She had a particularly large volume propped open on her lap, but she wasn't reading it. She was staring at the ceiling.

Her two heartbeats resonated in her chest. Whenever she noticed it, she felt a slight giddiness course through her, a mad elation that she couldn't explain. Some part of her was obviously happy about this change, whilst another part of her cautioned her. She kept remembering the TARDIS' words, that it wasn't sure she would survive this. Rose already felt the strain pull at her body. Her brain was so full of words and knowledge that sometimes she felt she would burst. She felt strong, powerful even. Rose remembered how the Doctor had grown a whole new hand just after regenerating – who knew what she was capable of at the moment.

She had started reading some of the books the Doctor kept, mainly to occupy the time until the TARDIS took them where they needed to go. But she was also curious. She finally felt she could get closer to the Doctor than ever before. She could see how his mind worked, and why he behaved in the way he always did; never standing still, full of turbulent thoughts and emotions, all bubbling under the surface. Checking out some of the books he had, on history, technology or alien cultures, she found it amazing to understand all that she read, and wanted to know more. If her new, fabulous existence had a time limit now, she at least wanted to make the most of it and learn as much as she could. Maybe she would find something useful.

Currently, however, she felt less like a Time Lady (the thought still alien to her) and more like a lovesick teenager. She could not concentrate on her book, but found herself daydreaming about her Doctor. His eyes, his smile, his way of moving around the ship, his warm hugs, his hand grabbing hers… every shared experience now seemed meaningful and special. Every conversation carried weight. She also thought back to when he was still his other self, replaying that one goodbye kiss in her mind, wishing she had remembered it sooner. The longing and desire tore at her hearts, and she cursed herself for never really pursuing something deeper with her friend. She really had to get him back, and then, she decided, she would snog the living vortex out of him. Even if it was the last thing she'd do.

Rose sighed and tried to get back to her book. Suddenly, her ears picked up a slight change in the ship's sounds. They had arrived. She put the book aside, still marvelling at her new senses and abilities. She remembered the conversation she had with her mother just before everything went wrong.

" _Do you think you'll ever settle down?"_

" _The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling."_

" _And you'll keep on changing. And in forty years' time, there'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human."_

Sadness filled Rose's hearts. Her mother had been right. She wasn't human anymore, and now she was travelling through space somewhere far from home, alone except for a weird, sentient ship. Rose missed her mum.

She came back to the console room and glanced around appreciatively. The room had changed along with her. It still had the coral structure she knew, and the light was warm and welcoming. The metal grating had given way to a smooth, wooden platform, suspended around the console. Twisting from the platform, several walkways led towards corridors up and down the ship. The coral structure on the walls accommodated a wooden walkway all around, with gadgets and cupboards hiding as yet unknown novelties for Rose to discover. She even thought she'd seen a blackboard somewhere.

The console itself seemed less mechanical now. It felt more smooth and grown, with metal wires and levers seamlessly integrating into the structure. Around the platform, three wooden, twisted and winding pillars made their way up to the ceiling, joining with the coral supports. A thorny rose with a twisting stem was carved into each. Above the rotor, far up in the ceiling, there seemed to be a leafy canopy that showed some peeks of a starry sky beyond.

The TARDIS had outdone herself this time, she found. Rose loved the new look, and warmth filled her as she felt the TARDIS' hum gently in her mind. Maybe, even if she didn't survive this, the room would stay this way, and the Doctor would have something to remember her by.

"All right, where are we at," Rose said and turned towards the central monitor. She could see a large, glowing supernova. She frowned. "Is this where the crack is? To the other universe?" she asked.

The TARDIS hummed quietly. _The crack is everywhere, Rose Tyler. It is in the fabric of time and space itself. But we need this power to get through._

Rose stepped around the console and went to the doors. She opened one, and took in the amazing sight. She felt her hearts beat faster. This felt so much more real than anything else in her life before. "How do we access the star's power?"

 _I have tapped into it. You must call to him. Focus, Rose Tyler, concentrate, and he will hear you._

Rose took a deep breath and closed the doors of the TARDIS again. She stood by the console and closed her eyes. She let the steady rhythm of the time rotor lull her in, and she focussed all her thoughts on her Doctor.

"Doctor…" she tried, but didn't feel anything.

She tried to recall her thoughts earlier when she was reading, tried to relax. She focussed on his smile, his infectious laughter. Random memories stirred in her mind.

 _His former self speaking to her over the monitor when she was captured by the Daleks. "Rose? I'm coming to get you."_

 _His unbridled relief when they saw each other again after encountering the Beast on Krop Tor._

" _I'm left travelling on my own, cause there's no one else."_

" _There's me."_

That's right, she thought stubbornly. There's always me, for as long as we have, and you are not getting stuck alone on some parallel Earth, you daft time lord!

"Doctor!" she called out, her eyes shut tightly, picturing him, letting all her new Time Lord senses reach out to the universe, trying to find the crack.

Suddenly, she felt it. It was like brushing lightly over a slight crack in a water glass, not big enough to cause any damage, but there none the less. She let her body relax and felt her way forward, through the faintest of tears, sensing the way to go. "Doctor, I'm here," she whispered.

X

The Doctor got out of a jeep, jumping onto the wet beach. He took a moment to take in the emptiness, the fresh sea air, the sound of the waves. Jackie scrambled out of the passenger's seat behind him, and he turned to give her a hand. Her eyebrows rose in surprise as he helped her down. He was the Doctor, and the Doctor didn't do domestic. Nevertheless, he had tried to be a good houseguest and travelling companion these past three months. He was grateful for all of the Tylers' help, even if he couldn't express it much. Without them, he wouldn't have made it to Norway.

Pete came around the jeep. "So this is it then?"

"Yep."

Mickey joined them. "How can you be sure it's this exact place? You said you stopped hearing her voice a few nights ago."

The Doctor glanced at him briefly. "Yeah, but then I looked at a map. It can only be here."

He walked away from the jeep. He wasn't wearing the headset anymore. It was true, the faint calls had stopped, but he knew it had to be this or nothing. Bad Wolf Bay.

Suddenly, he thought he saw something. And his ears picked up a faint call on the wind.

 _Doctor, I'm here…_

He ran onwards, along the beach. He heard the faint calls of Jackie in the background, but he didn't care. This was the place, he knew it. "Rose?" he called.

"Doctor!" came the faint voice. He spun around, and there she was. His glorious Rose, her golden hair shimmering in the transmission, her cheeks wet with tears. The sight nearly broke his hearts.

"Rose! I can see you! I heard you! I knew it was you!"

"Doctor, you're okay! You came," she said, smiling through the tears.

He stepped closer, as close to her as he dared, and tried to touch the image. His hand passed right through it. "Rose, where are you? Are you safe?"

"Don't worry, the TARDIS is taking care of me." There was something in her voice he couldn't quite place… something like a double meaning.

"Rose, I…" suddenly, he didn't know what to say. It was all so pointless. All he could say were goodbyes. His voice caught, and he fought back tears now. "Rose, I can never come back, I'm trapped; we're trapped," he added, glancing back at Rose's family that was quickly making their way over to them.

Rose's eyes grew large. "Are they all right? How's my mum?"

"They're all good, all safe."

"You make sure you keep'em that way, Doctor! At least until I'm there."

"What? Rose, the breach has been sealed, there's no way back… how are we even talking?"

She smiled. "There's one last crack, the TARDIS found it. I'm orbiting a supernova to get enough power to speak to you… but we don't have long."

' _I'm orbiting…?'_ There was something strange in the way she talked, something odd about how she carried herself. She seemed so… at home. Not lost, as he'd imagined. That was good. His Rose was safe, and the TARDIS would take care of her. But she would be alone. And he was running out of time to tell her…

"Rose, I…"

"ROSE!" came Jackie's shout behind him. She, Pete and Mickey ran up and stood in front of Rose. Jackie had tears in her eyes, too. "Rose, are you okay? We were so worried," she began.

"I am fine, mum, don't you worry. I'm coming back for you."

"What? Rose, you can't, you'll destroy the universe if you try!" the Doctor shouted. _This was wrong, this should not happen. Goodbyes, that was all this was._ "You need to…"

"Doctor," she interrupted him with more authority than he'd ever heard from her. Tears were streaming down her face. She seemed to glow with the light of the TARDIS. Her song whispered through his mind. The moment would forever be branded into his memory. "Listen to me. I am burning up a sun just to say this. I love you. And I'm coming back for you. I'll find a way to get to you. All of you!"

He was speechless. His magnificent Rose. So determined, so glorious… she had once saved him by looking into the heart of the TARDIS, when he thought he'd never see her again. She had destroyed the Daleks – so what was there she couldn't do? His mouth open, tears running down his cheeks, he just stood there. "My beautiful Rose… what have you done?" he whispered, amazed, his eyes widening in a sudden understanding.

Jackie piped up, "Rose, be safe my love, just be safe!"

Rose glanced back at the Doctor, pain and sorrow etched clearly on her face. "Time is running out… Doctor, one last thing… you are no longer alone." She placed a hand on her heart.

Her desperate plea finally brought him to his senses. He picked up his courage. He needed her to know. He stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Rose, I…"

But then her image disappeared.

Silence fell on Bad Wolf Bay. His dropped limp at his side, and he stared unbelieving into the distance. He'd failed. He didn't tell her. And this might have been his last chance.

He felt a sharp slap connect with the back of his head.

"You bloody idiot," Jackie said with a teary voice, and stalked off.

X

Rose gasped. Her hand went to her mouth and she tried stifling a sob, but it was useless. She sank to the floor, holding on to the console with one hand. She leaned back, drew her legs to herself and let the tears flow freely.

The TARDIS sent a warm, comforting glow around her. She felt like she was getting a ghostly hug. Somehow it seemed to calm her down. She wiped her cheeks. "I tried, I really did, b-but I didn't know what to say," she said to the air at random. It slowly dawned on her that she hadn't really prepared for this at all. She had just been so excited to see him again, to hear his voice, that she hadn't really thought up a plan first. Was that what the TARDIS had expected? That she'd read some books and suddenly know what to do? Should she have told him something that would help?

"I didn't even tell him about what you.. did to me! I couldn't! Now what if I don't make it and he'll never.. he'll never…" she started sobbing again.

But the TARDIS was silent. Instead, Rose heard a small noise like a gasp. A very female, very corporeal sounding gasp. Her head snapped up in shock, all her new senses suddenly alarmed.

Before her stood a very confused looking redhead in a wedding dress.


	3. The Runaway Bride

**Chapter 3 – The Runaway Bride**

"What?!" The bride demanded, staring at Rose.

"Stay a-away," Rose blurted, scrambling to her feet. What new alien threat was this? How could someone enter the TARDIS? Wasn't she shielded from, well, everything?

"Who are you?! Where am I?" the redhead burst out, growing more and more panicked, staring wide-eyed at Rose, then looking around the room. "What the hell is this place?!"

Rose had run behind the console, ready to do something that was yet to be decided, if the very human looking bride tried something. Huh. She cocked her head to one side and reached out with her mind. She wasn't even aware she was doing it, it just came naturally. The TARDIS didn't seem to be alarmed. Rose wiped the rest of the tears from her face and took a closer look, frowning, eyes narrowed. Okay, perhaps this wasn't an alien threat, maybe it was really just a very confused bride.

She held out both hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm Rose," she swallowed away the lump in her throat. "Rose Tyler. I mean you no harm." Yes, that sounded like a good start, Rose felt.

However, the woman's reaction was not what she expected at all. "Oh. Oooh, very funny! I get it! HILARIOUS!" she shouted at the TARDIS at large, Rose ducking away a little. "Did Nerys put you up to this? I bet she did, you blonde BIMBOS are all the SAME!" the bride exploded.

Rose stood up straight now, her fear giving rapidly way to bafflement and slight annoyance. Bimbo, huh?

The redhead stalked closer, her outstretched hand pointing at Rose, her voice threatening. "Whatever kind of trick you pulled here, you better take me back RIGHT NOW, or there'll be hell to pay, I can tell… you…" she frowned, lowering her hand. "Have you been crying?!"

Rose realised after her flood of tears earlier she probably looked a right mess. Well, at least it put a stop to the woman's ranting.

She took a deep breath. Who the hell was she to have a go at her on one of the worst days of her short life. She stepped away from the console and planted herself firmly in front of the slightly taller bride. "All right," she said, quite loudly and forcefully, channeling her mum. "One, yes, I have been crying. I'm a mess right now. Moving on to two, I have absolutely no idea who the hell you are, or what you're doing on my ship, and three, you could at least introduce yourself before you go off insulting random strangers."

The woman seemed taken aback, still frowning. "I.. I'm Donna. Donna Noble."

Rose sighed. "Nice to meet you, Donna, Donna Noble." She looked her up and down. "Now. Right, let me guess, Earth, early 21st century?"

Donna stared at her like she was going mental. Huh, Rose thought, I remember how that felt all too well. "No, I'm from Mars! What do you think?!"

Rose raised her hands in defence and mumbled, "just checking." She went to the jump seat and sat down, her head in her hands. "Ugh, this is so not the right day for this, I can't…" she mumbled.

Donna seemed to have had enough as well. "Look, you know what, I don't know what happened, if this is just a prank gone wrong or something – but I'm going back now… to get married," she huffed, dramatically swishing her dress around and stalking to the doors.

Rose didn't notice in time. "No, wait we're not…"

"GAAH!"

Rose ran towards her, quickly pulling her back inside the TARDIS before she tumbled headlong into a collapsing star. Donna clung to her arm with ferocity, staring wild-eyed at the universe.

"We're, we're…"

"In space, yeah. This is a space ship, and we're in space."

"But how..?"

"Why don't we sit down for a moment?" Rose tugged her back to sit on the platform, kicking the door closed with her foot as she turned. Rose held Donnas hands for a moment, but she pulled them away, eying her critically all of a sudden, looking intently at her face.

"Wait, are you … an alien?!"

Rose smiled ruefully. She probably was now, from Donna's perspective, but there was no need to go into that right now. "No, I am human," she said, a little sadness in her voice.

"Then how did you get to be in space?"

"It's a long story," Rose began and ran a hand through her hair.

Donna huffed. "I don't have time for a long story, I'm getting married!" she cried out.

Rose really had enough of this. She let go of the Time Lady for a moment and slipped back into the sassiest, no-shit-taking version of herself; the girl from the Powell Estate. "Well, you asked the question, that's the shortest answer there is. NOW," she said, jumping up and busying herself at the console, punching in coordinates. "If we're done, I'll just be taking you back then, shan't I?" She smiled in mock friendliness. "So," she purposefully gave Donna a very eyebrow-raised appraising glance, "I'm guessing London, and what," she sniffed the air, which made Donna recoil a little, "that's still 2006, yeah? You can be more specific when we get there. Hold onto your veil, sister," she raised her voice and, in her best Doctor impression, punched the last lever with dramatic ferocity. The TARDIS jumped into action, and Donna screamed, holding on to the console for dear life.

X

"All right then," Rose gestured to the doors. "St. Mary's, Chiswick, London, United Kingdom, Earth."

Donna stared at her, still bewildered from the flight. Rose shooed her. "Off you go then."

The bride gathered up her skirts, snorting through her nose, and with a little indignant huff and a flick of her hair, she stalked out of the doors. Rose couldn't help but chuckle a little. She had spunk, that Donna, she had to admit. She sauntered over to the doors and leaned in the frame, looking after her as she ran up to the church.

Rose was just about to turn and leave, as she saw Donna run back towards her. Or rather, stomp in anger. Rose felt the urge to flee.

Donna headed right for Rose. "They're all GONE! It's too late, I missed it. I missed my own wedding," she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Rose pressed her lips together in chagrin. "I'm.. sorry," she tried.

But Donna was now staring at the TARDIS, seeing it for the first time. She seemed to mouth the words 'police box' and frowned. She looked at Rose again, then shook her head, clearly not interested in this riddle at the moment. "The reception," she resolved, gathering her skirts around her, running off to hail a cab. Rose looked after her, and for the first time noticed the decorations everywhere. Christmas. On the other side of the street, she saw a band dressed as Santas, playing 'God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen' on their brass instruments. A pang of sadness threatened to grip her again as she realised she had no one to spend Christmas with this year. She wondered whether her family was celebrating it in the parallel world. She remembered the previous year: the Doctor newly regenerated, wearing a paper crown…

Wait, Santas? With musical instruments? Rose did a double take. Uh-oh. Just as Donna managed to get into a taxi, the Santas lowered their instruments, holding them like weapons. They were looking straight at Rose, who slowly retreated a step into the TARDIS. The taxi revved and sped past her, and she got a glance at the driver, another masked Santa. "No! DONNA!" Rose yelled. Brilliant. Suddenly, bullets started flying, and she ran back to the console, the door banging shut. "Oooooh, of course! It's Christmas, something always goes wrong at Christmas," she mumbled angrily as she flicked a few levers, kicking the TARDIS into flight. On the outside monitor she saw the Santas advancing.

"Hang in there, Donna," she said.

X

For the first time, Rose began to really appreciate how difficult flying a spaceship could be. Her heart went out to the Doctor, sending silent apologies his way for all the teasing. She was flicking buttons and levers left right and centre, whilst stretching her leg to hold a rope in place, which she was frantically trying to tie up without letting go of anything. Sparks were flying everywhere. With all her sudden knowledge of how the ship worked _in theory_ , executing it was far harder. For one, she'd need about 5 extra pairs of hands to do it properly. Also, the TARDIS felt strained, like someone who hasn't been jogging for a while running up a hill. Rose felt small jabs of annoyance in her mind. She clearly didn't like it when Rose thought she was out of shape. Rose smiled. "Well come on girl, let's get to it then!" she shouted at the time rotor and secured the rope.

The TARDIS protests ignored, Rose bolted to the doors, the rope securely wound around her arms a few times, to keep the tension on the lever. She leaned out, and gasped. She basically had plotted a course along the lines of "follow that taxi!" – but when she noticed the speed with which she was hurtling along the motorway she felt a bit dizzy. More sparks flew and the ship banged heavily on the road, with Rose only barely holding on to the doors.

She spotted the taxi a few cars ahead and gave the lever a gentle pull. "WHOA," she blurted out as she sped up again, chasing after the runaway bride. "DONNA!" she yelled, still too far away. Cars started honking. She saw two kids stuck to their car windows, staring wide-eyed at the blonde woman in the phone box.

Rose gave them a little wave in passing and manoeuvred towards the taxi. Donna looked back through the rear window, stared, turned back, and began waving at her frantically. Rose brought up the TARDIS next to her as best as she could, straining against the rope. "DONNA!"

She pounded her fists against the window. "SANTA'S A ROBOT!" she complained.

"I KNOW!" Rose yelled over the noise of traffic, wind and TARDIS.

"IT'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" she added, for emphasis.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I KNOW!"

The TARDIS had to swerve aside for some large pillars and Rose tumbled forward. "Oh Nooooo," she yelled, holding on to the rope for dear life. She heard Donna shout. Rose was hanging halfway out of the TARDIS, scrambling madly to get back in. The wind was whipping around her clothes, her hair was in her face, and the ship seemed to be speeding up still. With an almighty effort, she pulled herself back up and steadied the rope. Her hearts were beating frantically up in her throat, which was still a very weird sensation all by itself.

She spotted the taxi again, and saw Donna almost hang out of the window, yelling for her.

"HELP!"

"Coming, I'm coming," Rose yelled in annoyance. God, this woman!

She felt she was getting the hang of controlling the lever now. She steered the ship as close as she dared and shouted back at the car. "Donna! Open the door! Get out of there!"

Donna frantically tried the door handle. "It's locked!" She slammed her hands against the window again.

Oh God, Rose thought, she'd forgotten about that. There was one other asset the Doctor always carried with him to get them out of any situation that involved locked doors: The sonic screwdriver, locked away safely in the parallel world.

Quick, quick, quick, think! Donna was desperately pounding away at her window, and Rose was straining under the rope, the door, the wind… think think think, what other assets have I got, what else can I do, what do I know…? She raked her Time Lady senses through her strange new brain, but facts about time and space weren't really helping. Think!

"ROSE! HELP!" Donna was shouting again. This was the first time since she started this that a stranger called for her like that. Shouted for _her help_. There was no sonic, no Doctor, _no other help but her_. Something in her mind clicked.

A golden light suffused her eyes. "Move back," she ordered in a slightly harsher voice.

Donna stared, but then backed away on the seat as far as she dared. Somewhere in her mind, Rose knew that she had no idea what she was doing or what was happening. Fine tendrils of gold snaked towards the car, entwining the door. She heard a sizzling sound over the noise, and the lock swung open, the door crashing against the car. Donna's eyes were wide but she scooted back forward.

"Jump," Rose ordered, still in a commanding voice. The tendrils dissolved. She felt calmer and more in control now. Powerful, even.

Donna held on to the side of the car, staring at the speeding motorway under their feet. "I… I can't," she shouted in fear. "I'm not jumping on a motorway!"

Rose felt the Bad Wolf recede into her mind again, her vision becoming clearer. The rope tugged painfully at her hands. "Donna," she swore between her clenched teeth, "for God's sake, get over here, I can't gold on much longer!"

"B-but your eyes were all weird…" Donna still stared. "You said you were human!"

"You need to know this NOW?!"

"YES!" She snapped.

"I was human!" Rose yelled. "Then I became something else! Okay?!"

"Why?" Donna demanded. "What would you go and do that for?!"

"Because I lost the man I loved! I changed so I could fly his bloody ship and get him back! And I swear to God, if you don't jump right now, I'll be off doing just that!"

That was final. Donna took a deep breath and jumped. She hurtled into Rose, who fell backwards, the doors of the TARDIS slamming shut. Rose quickly disentangled herself from what seemed about 20 pounds of tulle, and dove at the console. Still from the floor, she reached a few levers and hit something with a rubber mallet, then leaned back and closed her eyes, flopping against the console, completely exhausted. The TARDIS slowly became silent.

She did it. They did it. Donna was alive, Rose was fine, the ship was fine, and she'd just made them land on some rooftop somewhere. "Oh God that was scary," she brought out.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Donna still lying on the ramp, breathing heavily. She looked up, and for the first time, her eyes seemed to be really focused on Rose, searching her face, her entire appearance. Here she was, just some blonde wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a London accent… flying a spaceship. It was all so bizarre for her, still. She laid a hand on the console and looked up. "We did it," she said happily, tearing up a little. "You and me. Thank you."

The ship hummed softly in her mind. Rose was glad she apparently wasn't angry about the whole rescue mission debacle.

Donna narrowed her eyes a little, getting up. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh just the TARDIS," Rose mumbled, wiping a tear away. She got up as well and took a deep breath. "How 'bout some fresh air, yeah? I think," Rose gestured to the smoking console, "she needs a moment."

Donna nodded numbly and they went outside.

X

"So the … ship turned you into an alien?"

"Basically, yeah," Rose said. They were sitting with their legs dangling over the rooftop, enjoying the view for now. Rose felt that it was good to chat to someone normal for a change, and basically poured out her heart about the whole parallel universe problem. After getting over the initial strangeness, Donna was really taking it in strides. Rose found she liked her.

"Blimey, you must really like that guy," Donna sighed.

Rose smiled, thinking of her Doctor. "He's… well…" she sighed. "What about you? Who's the lucky guy?"

"Lance," Donna smiled. "Met him at work. I'm only a temp – and no one ever cares about the temps. And he's the head of HR! He doesn't need to bother with me! But he was… nice, and funny, and we really bonded, you know? He brought me coffee every day."

"That sounds nice," Rose said. Nice and simple. Things had been nice and simple with Mickey, once, she pondered. Meeting the Doctor meant her world had become much bigger… like stepping out of an enclosed garden into a great, wild jungle.

"Yeah," Donna sighed.

"I'm really sorry about your wedding, Donna." Rose hung her head.

"That's all right, it wasn't your fault." She looked over the rooftops. "So… how the hell did I end up in space?"

Rose pulled a face. "I haven't the foggiest. I bet the Doctor could tell you, but me… I'm pretty useless."

Donna slapped her shoulder. "Don't be daft, of course you're not useless. You just saved my life!"

Rose smiled a little. "Guess I did, didn't I?" Suddenly, she began laughing. Donna grinned, too. This was too absurd. They both laughed out loud over the rooftops of Chiswick.

"But seriously," Rose began, "I should take you to your reception. They're probably all worried where you've gone!"

Donna eyed the Tardis with a frown. "And you're sure that thing won't get us into more trouble?"

"Promise, Donna. Just tell me where to go, and I'll drop you off."

"But what about the crazy Santas? Won't they come after us again?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Last year when they appeared, the Doctor said they were scavengers, like pilot fish… arriving just before the big bad invaders show up." Oh dear.

"Wait, last year?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, didn't you see them? Lots of robot santas, great big spaceship over London on Christmas Day…?"

"I had a bit of a hangover," Donna stated matter-of-factly.

She looked out over the rooftops, and pointed in the direction of the Powell Estate. "I was there, in the Estate where I grew up. With my mum, and the Doctor, and Mickey... I wonder what's gonna happen to our flat…" she trailed off and cleared her throat. "Well, the aliens nearly got us that time, but the Doctor stopped them – mainly because he knew who they were and how they tried to control the Earth…" She threw her hands up in desperation. "That's the problem! I can fly the TARDIS, but I don't know all the things he knows! I wouldn't know where to start! How the hell can we stop whatever it is this time without his help?"

"Well," Donna began, and sighed. "You've already done some pretty remarkable things so far, how about you just kind of keep going, one catastrophe at a time, and just… wing it?"

Rose gave her a rueful smile. "Just improvise, yeah?"

"Yeah! You know what they say… fake it 'til you make it!"

"Is that what they say?" Rose grinned.

"Well they did in my last mandatory career workshop at the temp agency. Usually, they're completely useless, but this time I'm willing to take their advice. How 'bout you?"

Rose smiled. "Donna Noble, you are a wise woman. Now, let's get you to your reception, and then we'll see."

X

The TARDIS landed in front of a small community hall in Chiswick. After a few minutes flight (to which she was slowly getting used to) Donna had finally persuaded Rose to join them at the reception, since she 'deserved a drink'. Rose followed the slightly dishevelled bride into the building, and was greeted by loud music.

Donna gaped at the assembled party guests, particularly her fiancée dancing with some blonde chick. The following scene only made Rose like Donna more and more. Everyone ganged up on the poor bride, questioning her mysterious disappearance, even blaming her for not calling them, until Donna pulled off the most convincing fake bout of crying she'd ever witnessed. With the exception of the blonde woman rolling her eyes, everyone embraced Donna and welcomed her back properly. Donna just gave Rose a wink and let herself be led into the party.

Rose suppressed a grin and wandered over to the bar as the reception slowly continued, now with bride and groom happily dancing as if nothing had happened. Humans, Rose thought. Something so weird and alien happened less than an hour ago, yet Donna and her assembled guests were willing to ignore it and party on. Rose thought about her reaction to the Autons and meeting the Doctor. She hadn't been able to let it go. She had looked for answers and gotten herself and Mickey into danger just to figure out what was going on and who the madman with the box was. She smiled. Perhaps she really was different, more crazy than them. Perhaps she was cut out for this life after all.

Watching the couples dancing reminded her of the time she and the Doctor danced during the blitz, when he was all ears and leather, and she was already falling very much in love with him. _The Doctor and Jack – the three of us had a great time together_ , she thought wistfully. Jack… now there's a man she'd love to see again. He might be able to help, too. She wondered where he was.

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a young man by the side of the dance floor, filming the party with his camera. Rose sauntered over to him and gave him a warm smile. He seemed to get a bit nervous at that.

"What a wedding, huh? Or lack of one, rather," she said conversationally. "So, you filmed the whole thing, yeah?"

"Y-yes?"

"So the bride just…" Rose left the sentence hanging in the hope of finding out more.

"…disappeared!" he obliged eagerly. "It was one hell of a stunt! I taped the whole thing," he added proudly. "You wanna see? They all had a look."

"Sure!" Rose leaned over. The guy pressed a few buttons and moved to the point where he filmed the bride's entrance into the church. There was music playing, and Donna looked radiant as she walked on her father's arm, grinning brightly at her husband-to-be. Suddenly, a golden glow surrounded her, and she began to scream. Rose gasped. The golden light intensified, until Donna disappeared completely into thin air. The guests jumped up and screamed, pointed to the ceiling and began running around in panic.

"Pretty good trick, huh?" camera guy said proudly. "I was clappin'!"

"But… that looks like… play it again?"

"Sure," he said. Rose stared. There was no mistake: The golden glow looked exactly like… the Bad Wolf. She had tried to push whatever happened on the motorway to the back of her mind, filing it under 'deal with later', but this might just put it back on top of her to-do-list.

"I need to go to the TARDIS," she mumbled. The guy said, "…the what?" but she bolted off. She ran towards the double doors and through the small hallway. Throwing open the front door, she suddenly stopped. Three Robot Santas were advancing, instruments at the ready.

Rose didn't hesitate but raced back into the building, looking for Donna. She spotted her wedding dress and snaked through the dancing couples, shouting. "DONNA!"

She was still dancing with Lance, and turned around, confused. "Donna, we gotta go, they're here, they followed us!"

"What? But…"

"No time, we need to get everyone OUT!" she shouted.

"But, it's my whole family in here, oh God…"

"Is there a back door?"

"I dunno," Donna muttered and they both looked at each other for a second before they ran through to the back of the room. There was an emergency exit. They threw open the doors and were greeted by more Santas. Donna quickly drew the door closed, but Rose just managed to glimpse one of the robots holding a sort of large remote control.

They ran back into the room, and Rose frantically searched the walls for any possible exits. Through the large windows she spotted more Santas.

Donna looked around in panic. "We're trapped."

Suddenly, the large Christmas tree in the middle of the room started moving. Rose's eyes went wide. "Oh God, GET AWAY FROM THE TREE!" she yelled.

People looked around, scared, moving away in confusion. All of a sudden, mayhem ensued. The Christmas baubles exploded, the room filling with screams, noise and smoke. People were diving for cover. Furniture, blasted to bits, was flying like shrapnel. Rose and Donna dove behind some tables. "What are we gonna do?!" Donna cried. Rose looked around, frantically searching for anything that might help. She peeked from behind their table and froze. The robot Santas were advancing into the room. Screams everywhere. Donna spotted Lance and pulled him down to their side. She looked at Rose, her gaze searching, willing her to stop this. "Can't you do something?"

Rose swallowed and looked back at the robots. She still wasn't sure she could summon her power at will, and she was moreover not at all convinced it was a healthy thing to do in the long run. But with the panic surrounding her, the people in need, Donna's imploring gaze…

Rose stood up. She clenched her fists and felt a warmth spread through her body which she now recognised. It felt… good. The Santas all stood in one row, looking at her.

She cocked one eyebrow. "That's not at all what I wanted for Christmas this year," she said in mock-disappointment, as golden light began to envelop her body.


	4. Spider and Wolf

Chapter 4 – Spider and Wolf

"Oh my God," Donna whispered, as she looked up at Rose. She was standing in front of the robots, cocky as hell. For a second, Donna expected them to just gun her down. But then Rose spoke, and her voice sounded a bit deeper than before; it echoed sonorously around the room, seeming to quiet all the other panicked voices. Rose raised her hand. Donna peeked around the table to see what was happening. She felt Lance next to her move to join her.

"You leave these people alone," Rose commanded, and her hand swept through the air. Along with the movement, the robot Santas crumbled to the ground, glowing ever so slightly in a golden shimmer. Something electrical fizzled, and then silence settled over the room. Some people were staring, but most seemed to have fled the scene.

Rose closed her eyes and swayed on her feet. One hand went to her head and her face contorted in pain. Her legs suddenly gave way beneath her. Donna moved quickly and steadied her as she sank to the floor. She held Rose in her arms for a moment, and looked at her in worry. She looked so young – yet she spoke like someone much older. Donna couldn't help but feel protective of her. She wondered once more what she had been through to get to this point. "Are you all right?"

Rose sat up, breathing heavily and wiping away a stray tear from her cheek. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Donna."

Donna steadied her a bit longer as they got up. She noticed that Lance's eyes were nearly popping out of his skull. She tried to ignore it. "What… did you do?"

Rose looked at the Santas. "I… I'm honestly not sure what this is, Donna, but it helped, yeah?"

It was almost like she was worried what Donna might think of her. "Yeah, of course," she said, and looked around. She saw some of her younger cousins on the floor, hurt from the explosions. She let go of Rose and darted over to her family to help. Rose turned to the robots and went to examine the bodies.

Donna looked over her shoulder, looking for her fiancée. "Lance, don't just stand there, call an ambulance!"

Lance was still looking at Rose, a strange, puzzled look on his face. "Yes, of course," he managed and took out his phone.

After a few minutes, Donna felt assured that nobody that was still around was suffering from life-threatening injuries. People were beginning to give her strange glances, beginning to ask questions. She quickly rejoined Rose. That woman was now her anchor in this day of craziness.

When she approached, Rose looked up, holding on of the robot heads. "I've got to get this to the TARDIS, to take a closer look." There seemed to be an unspoken invitation lingering in the air. Donna didn't hesitate. "Well, go on then, space lady," she urged. Rose smiled and they left quickly, before any more family members trapped them with questions.

Inside the TARDIS, Rose plugged in the head to several sockets and stared at the monitor. "This is odd. This is different," she mumbled. Donna was sitting on the pilot seat, fiddling with her veil. When she finally tore it from her hair in frustration (why the hell had she insisted on wearing one in the first place?) she looked at Rose. "What is it?"

"Well," Rose murmured and milled around the centre console a bit, pressing a few buttons here and there. "Last year, they were independent, attacking on their own. But this one here," she flicked a lever and nodded. "He was controlled by something. Or someone."

"How on Earth do you know how to use this… thing," Donna gestured at the console. "I mean, I struggle with my laptop, you know?"

Rose smiled and tapped her forehead. "Came with the change. All of the knowledge. Bit garbled at the moment, but I'm getting the hang of…" she suddenly stopped as her face looked pained once more.

"You okay?" Donna frowned.

"Just… a headache," Rose managed. Her hand went to her nose and as she removed it, Donna saw a little bit of blood.

Donna raised an eyebrow. Space alien or no, she wasn't fooling anyone. "It's that light, isn't it? It's hurting you."

"Yeah. But it's the only asset I've got right now."

Donna frowned and examined her for a moment. She could tell Rose was trying to end the discussion, and she didn't want to pry. "Just be careful, all right? You're no good to anyone if you're out cold."

Rose nodded and absentmindedly pulled out a tissue, then went back to the robot head. She sighed and looked at the glowing bright column above the central hub. "It would help if I had a bit more to go on. The Doctor usually uses his sonic screwdriver to solve… well, basically anything," she rolled her eyes. "But he had it with him when he was... trapped. Can't you help a girl out, lovely?" she begged the machine.

Suddenly, the column began to glow brightly. A soft humming filled the room. Rose smiled. Donna shuffled off the pilot seat quickly to stand a bit further away. "We're not going anywhere, are we?"

Rose grinned. A small clicking was heard as something opened up in the console. Rose retrieved a small, metal tool from the opening and let out a jubilant whoop. "Well, that was easy! Should have just asked! Thank you, darling," she grinned cheekily and laid her hand on the column, which continued to hum softly. Donna stared. One minute she felt she was getting used to this strange person, and now she was talking to a machine.

"Did you just...?"

Rose examined the object in her hand like she had just received a treasure beyond worth. "She gave me my own," she murmured happily. "Look!" she said and turned to Donna to show her the new tool.

In her outstretched hands, Donna saw what looked like a large pen with a small, glowing crystal or stone at the top that was held in place by metal fastenings. The metal itself was silver and twisted decoratively around several small buttons. When she looked closer, she noticed that just below the top, the metal twisted into what looked like a stylized rose. She raised an eyebrow. "Custom made, wow." Rose laughed. "Yeah, she's got style, the TARDIS. I think the Doctor would approve."

"So what does it do?" Donna asked.

Rose's jaw set. She looked determined. "It's a sonic screwdriver, and I think it's going to solve our little problem."

She fiddled with the buttons on her new toy and pointed it at the robot head. The crystal glowed golden for a moment. "I've got a signal," she said, and, picking up the head, turned to leave the ship. Donna quickly followed. You never stood still with this one, did you, she thought.

Outside, Rose turned this way and that, like someone holding a compass. Donna saw Lance jump off a small wall where he'd been waiting. An ambulance was standing in front of the community hall now. Lance quickly ran over to her. "Donna, where the hell did you run off to?! Everyone's completely out of it, and… and what were you doing in that … _phone box_?! And _who is she_ and what is she…."

"LANCE," Donna mandated. "Shut up. She's here to help."

"But…" he stopped, as Rose suddenly stood right next to them, holding the head and her new screwdriver-thingy.

"Do you have a car?" she simply asked. Lance gaped at her like she had lost it.

"Yes…?"

"Good. Come on, then, we need to follow this signal."

Donna immediately followed Rose towards the street, then looked back at Lance, who was still standing there with a look of utter incredulity on his face. "Well hurry up, chop chop," she said, rolled her eyes and dragged her dumbstruck fiancée along.

X

The signal was easy enough to follow. After a short drive, Donna noticed where Rose was leading them and exclaimed, "That's the way to our workplace!"

"Wait, what? What do you want at the office?!" Lance demanded from behind the wheel.

Rose basically ignored the question and gave Donna in the backseat a rueful smile. "It's always something with work. That's how I got into all of this, too!"

"All of what?" Lance demanded, but was ignored once again.

"First thing the Doctor did," Rose grinned. "Blew up my workplace. Henrik's, the department store, remember? When all the shop window dummies came to life? Ooh, when was that, 2005? Well, a bit longer ago for me, I think…" she added quietly.

"Hey, I remember seeing that on the news," Lance exclaimed. Donna merely shrugged. "Who's the Doctor and why did he…" Lance tried again.

"Turn right here," Rose commanded.

Lance obeyed, but rolled his eyes and finally gave up trying to get anywhere in the conversation. Donna had to suppress a grin. She wondered whether she'd have to explain it all to him later, or whether he'd think she'd gone crazy after all.

Leaving the car, Donna, Rose and Lance made their way into the offices of H.C. Clements. Rose immediately went to access the next best computer and pointed her screwdriver at it. Donna blinked as the machine whirred to life and displayed all sorts of information about the company.

Lance shifted uneasily on his feet. "H-how did you do that? You can't just access our computers, it's company property, confidential…" He trailed off as he saw the look Donna gave him.

Rose looked at the page about the company on her screen and snorted in disgust. "I should have known," she mumbled darkly.

"What?"

"Torchwood. H.C. Clements used to belong to Torchwood."

"And…?"

Rose got up and looked around with a sudden hatred in her eyes. "They're the ones responsible for the Cybermen invasion. They're the ones responsible for trapping my family and the Doctor in the parallel world."

Donna swallowed. The look on Rose's face was scaring her.

Rose turned back to the computer and frowned. "But Torchwood is no more. It was destroyed in the battle…" she began searching further.

Lance piped up. "Battle? What battle?" he said in disbelief.

Rose glanced over her shoulder. "Battle of Canary Wharf? Millions of Daleks in the sky not too long ago?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "We were scuba diving. In Spain."

Rose shook her head, exasperated. "You people," she muttered.

Donna scoffed and looked at Lance. "Oh, she gets transformed into an alien, and suddenly we're ' _you people_ ' are we? Huh." Lance slowly shook his head with his mouth slightly open.

Rose ignored her remark and got up, making a beeline for the elevator. Donna sighed and followed once again. She wondered how much running she would still be doing in her wedding heels, and hoped this whole thing would soon be over. Rose was examining the numbers in the elevator. "Hmmm. On the company plans there's a basement, but… there's a second basement here. A whole floor that wasn't on the plans!"

"Second basement, what the hell are you talking about?" Lance asked.

"It needs a key," Donna pointed out.

"No it doesn't," Rose grinned and pointed her fancy new tool at the keyhole, which promptly reacted. "Are you coming?" She smiled at Donna.

Donna didn't need to be asked twice. "You're the one who keeps saving my life, space lady, so I'm sticking with you!"

Lance hesitated. Donna gave him a pointed look. "Lance."

"But who is she and what the hell are we…"

"Get in here."

Lance hurried into the elevator. Donna heard Rose snicker behind her.

x

Down in the second basement, Donna immediately felt like she was intruding on someone's secret lair. They looked around the dark, dank corridor. Rose suddenly exclaimed, "look! Transport!" and led them to a couple of Segways that stood by a wall. As they trundled along the hallway, Donna couldn't help but guffaw loudly. Here she was, in her wedding dress, in a secret basement of her office, on a Segway, with an alien lady… it was too much. She giggled outright. Glancing at Rose, she saw that she probably had the same thoughts. She joined in, and both of them couldn't stop laughing until they reached the end of the hallway. She merely heard Lance mutter under his breath, "stark raving mad!" and for the moment, she really didn't care what he thought.

Rose stopped at a door with a hatch wheel.

"Torchwood, authorized access only," Donna read.

Rose huffed in annoyance. "After what they did, if I'm not authorized, no one is," she said and opened the door. They entered a large hall. It housed many large containers, glass vials and experimental-looking contraptions. It looked as if someone had turned a large empty hall beneath the office into a laboratory.

Rose looked at the vials that contained a blueish liquid.

"What are these?" Donna asked.

"This has Torchwood written all over it," Rose said in a low voice. She walked through the rows of large containers and examined some of the lab equipment. She picked up another vial and turned to Donna. Without warning, she came closer and held out the vial towards Donna's body.

Donna shrunk back. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking something," Rose mumbled. Her face suddenly lit up when the vial began to glow golden. Donna jumped as she noticed the same glow coming from her own body. "That's what happened during the wedding! Rose, stop, please!"

"Sorry," she said sheepishly and removed the vial. She frowned and seemed to concentrate for a moment. "Hang on, I remember something. I read something a couple of days ago about this energy the Time Lords used, these particles. Huons, I think they're called." She seemed to rake her mind for more details. "Ugh, so much information in my head, it's hard to find what's what…" she pressed a hand to her temple. "Well, I'm not sure, but as far as I remember, these particles are still in the heart of the TARDIS, but, like, nowhere else in the universe. Maybe that's why you were pulled inside her, like, like… magnets!" she concluded. "The only two living magnets."

"I'm a magnet?" Donna stuttered. "But… how do I stop being a magnet! I don't want these particles in my body!"

Rose stuffed the vial in her back pocket and put both hands on Donna's shoulders. "Don't worry, Donna, I'll do whatever I can to get you back to normal," she said softly.

Donna looked into her eyes and nodded once.

Rose smiled and continued to have a look around. She came to a large hole in the ground. "Ooh, blimey, what's this then?"

Donna approached cautiously. "Looks like someone drilled a hole in the ground?" she observed somewhat unnecessarily. The chasm seemed unending. Donna shivered.

"Ho much would you bet this goes all the way down?" Rose ventured. "Oh, this is so very Torchwood. _'Huh, let's dig a hole to the centre of the earth, what's the worst that could happen'_?" she mocked.

"Wait, centre of the earth?!" Donna asked, her voice higher than usual.

Rose nodded. "Wouldn't put it past them."

Donna sidled a bit closer and looked at Rose. "Could there be… dinosaurs down there, d'you reckon?" she asked cautiously.

Rose gave her a lopsided grin. "You know what? There just might be."

Suddenly, a booming voice rang out through the cavern. "Welcome, tiny mortals! Welcome to my laboratory!"

The two women jumped and shifted closer together. "Who are you?" Rose called out.

The voice continued. "Aaaah, I have waited so long. Hibernating at the edge of the universe. Until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken me…"

"Where are you? Show yourself! Or are you afraid?"

 _Oh God,_ Donna thought, _don't taunt the evil voice, don't taunt the evil voice!_

The voice laughed. "Oh pardon me, little human! Wouldn't want to deprive you of the glorious sight…"

A shimmering light shone in the cavern, and suddenly, a giant, red-skinned abomination with way too many legs appeared on the other side of the large hole. Donna gave a small yelp and felt her heart race. They were gonna die. This was it. This alien spider from hell was going to kill them.

"Kneel before the Empress of the Racnoss, puny humans!" the giant spider creature boomed.

Donna felt herself obeying this command – it seemed like a really silly idea not to do what the giant spider wanted – but Rose held her back and grabbed her hand. "Don't you worry, I've got this under control," she whispered sideways.

Suddenly, the robots from earlier appeared on the two long balconies around the back of the hall. They all held machine guns. Donna felt her knees shaking. Rose glanced around the hall. "…or not," she amended quietly.

Donna spotted some movement above, behind the Empress. It was Lance! With an axe! Oh, she knew he'd be helping out, he was always so gallant. Donna began asking questions, distracting the Empress as long as she dared. Lance's axe went up, and… he laughed.

Lance lowered the axe and began laughing wildly. The Empress joined in.

"Lance? What's going on?" she asked and let go of Rose's hand.

Rose gave her a sad look. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Lance's face contorted in disgust. "God she's thick. Months I had to put up with her, months! A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!"

"But…" Donna felt tears rise in her throat. This was the man she was supposed to marry. And now he was looking at her with such cold disdain. "I don't understand."

Rose touched her arm and looked at her gently. "How did you two meet?"

Donna looked at her, bewildered. "In the office. He…"

"…he made you coffee, every day."

Donna stared. She felt tears rise to her eyes. Her throat was dry.

Rose look incredibly sad. "The liquid particles," she said. She looked up at Lance, and shot him a deadly look. "It's in the job title, isn't it? 'Head of Human Resources?"

Lance grinned. "This time it's personnel," he quipped. "And god did I ever hate my job as much as I did the last six months. Stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle! The never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia – I deserve a medal!" he shouted.

Donna felt her whole world dissolve. She really was thick, wasn't she. She hadn't seen this coming… and maybe she should have known. She was a nobody, a stupid, fat temp who didn't have anything to offer. What could he ever have seen in her? She really should have caught on sooner. She felt herself spiral into a dark hole in her mind, barely listening any more.

"Is that what she offered you," Rose said, her voice quiet, anger bubbling just beneath the surface. "What are you, her consort?!"

Lance laughed. "Better than a night with _her_!"

Donna's heart constricted even more. "But… I love you," she brought out, tears rising.

Lance put on a face of mock-pity. "That's what made it easy."

"Enough talk," the Empress demanded roughly. "Lance, darling, I think it's time."

"Wait wait wait," Rose began, "but what is it all for? Like, you've got these particles, yeah, and you have us here now, but what do you need them for?"

"Never you mind," the Empress screeched. "I only need my key. KILL THE BLONDE ONE," she commanded the robots, and Donna heard two dozen machine guns being cocked and readied. "Don't worry, love," the Empress looked at Donna, "they're very precise."

Donna didn't even think. "Don't you hurt her, I won't let you!" she exclaimed passionately and stepped in front of Rose.

Rose just continued babbling to stall for time. But what good more time would be, Donna could not fathom at the moment.

"Wait, wait, wait," she rattled on at a million miles an hour, "like, you've forgotten one thing, haven't you, because, well, just think about it for a moment, if Donna, yeah, if she was pulled into my space ship because of the huons, then, maybe, if you reverse it, yeah, the space ship comes to HER!" she had pulled out the vial with huon particles out of her back pocked and slung an arm around Donna from behind, holding the vial close to her body. The particles activated and started glowing…

"FIRE!" screeched the empress, just as the TARDIS materialised around the two women.

The bullets thudded into the ship, but they were safe. Rose quickly pulled a few levers. The TARDIS shuddered and the noise of screaming and bullets outside faded. Rose let out a long breath and put away the vial. "That was close. Again."

Donna just stared into nothingness in shock. Rose turned to look at her. "Are you all right?" she asked quietly.

Donna felt she could no longer hold back the tears, and Rose enveloped her in a long, warm hug. She cried without restraint into her shoulder. Rose tentatively rubbed her back and soothed her as best she could, and Donna felt very glad to have someone to hang on to right now.

"The things he said," she brought out between sobs.

"I know," Rose said. "I am so sorry about this Donna. You deserve better than that."

"No I don't," Donna cried, and sobbed some more.

Rose was quiet. After a while, Donna felt herself quiet down and stepped away from Rose. She wiped a few stray tears away and tried to pull herself together. Rose looked at her gently. "Hey, what do you say we find out what's so important at the centre of the earth?"

"What… what do you mean?" Donna asked, still sniffing.

"Well, there may be one tiny fact about the TARDIS that I haven't told you about yet…" she hedged. Donna raised her eyebrows. What was next?

"She also travels in time."

"Oh." Was all that Donna managed, and sat back down on the pilot seat. She thought about it for a moment. "Does that mean you can go back and undo this entire day? Cause I for one wouldn't mind starting over…"

Rose had a sad look in her eyes. It was one of those looks that Donna had come to recognize over the past few hours, the one that made Rose seem much older than she was.

"I'm sorry Donna, I can't. We can't change something we know has happened, we can't go back on somebody's personal timeline." She lowered her head. "Trust me, I've been there."

Rose turned away, and went to work the console. Donna sniffed once and thought she might better let the matter drop for now. "Okay, so… how's it gonna help us then?"

"Well," Rose managed a small smile. "It doesn't hurt to look, does it?" Her eyes sparkled and she punched the final lever. Donna grabbed hold of her seat as the TARDIS sprung into action. The centre column was pumping up and down, glowing and making an ungodly amount of noise. Donna decided that she would never complain about her car acting up again.

Rose flicked a few switches, and the ship remained steady, humming softly.

"We're here. Let's have a look!" Donna marvelled at how, after all she'd been through, she still had that glint in her eye, and her voice sounded like she was peeking in on something forbidden, a sneaky glance at other times and places. Donna slowly walked over to the doors as Rose opened them.

They were in space. There was nothing but endless space, blackness and stars, colours and floating rocks. They stood for a moment, just taking in the view. It was so beautiful. Somehow, Donna felt the enormity of it press on her heart, making her forget Lance, forget the Empress, forget she was supposed to be getting married. She just looked, and looked, as space enveloped her heart. She felt terrified, but also, deep inside her, something settled that she would not forget.

"I've never seen this," Rose said in awe. "He took me to so many places, but I think we're the first humans to see _this_."

"What is… _this_?" Donna asked.

"The dawn of creation," Rose said reverently. "I've seen the world burn, billions of years in the future. And now I've seen it's beginning. Full circle," she added quietly to herself.

"Where's the earth?" Donna asked.

"All around us in the dust. This is the beginning of it all."

Donna stared and felt her throat constrict. She felt insignificant and tiny. Suddenly, Rose pointed. "There! You see it?"

"It's a… star?"

"I believe that is what we're looking for!" Rose went back to the console. "Hm. I think I know how I can…" she flicked a lever. "This should do it, Donna, what do you see?"

Donna noticed that everything around them seemed to be speeding up. "It's speeding up… and… that star is pulling things towards itself!"

Rose ran back to the door. "What?!" She stared for a few seconds. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. This… Donna, this is the creation of the Earth, and this ship is not just _in_ the core, it _is_ the core!"

She quickly closed the doors as the TARDIS began to rattle dangerously. Donna clung to the railing and cried out to Rose, "what is it _now_?!"

"Oh no, ohhhh not again! The ship is being pulled back! I've got to…" Rose pressed her eyes shut as she held on to the console. "I can hear you love, just hold on!" A golden light seemed to stream out of her hands into the ship. Donna's eyes went wide. She dashed over to the centre and took Rose by the shoulders.

"Rose, be careful!"

"Nearly… there," Rose managed, her whole body straining. Suddenly, the ship went still, and Donna felt the tension slowly leave Rose's shoulders. When she let go, Rose wobbled dangerously on her feet. She steadied her, and she sent her a thankful glance. "I think we're not exactly where she wanted us. Let's look."

They stepped outside the TARDIS, and Rose grinned. She still looked knackered, but Donna felt it wasn't her place to constantly tell a stranger to stop doing what she was doing. She was obviously trying to play over the whole exhaustion thing as long as it took for them to get out of this mess.

"Seems like we're back in the tunnel."

"Yep!" Rose bounced off to the nearest maintenance door. She began babbling something or other about the huon particles or the Racnoss, but Donna didn't hear much of it, as a black-gloved hand closed over her mouth and she was unceremoniously dragged away. Rose didn't turn back, despite Donna's frantic flailing.

x

Shortly afterwards, she found herself stuck to the ceiling, next to Lance.

"I hate you," she muttered darkly.

"Yeah I think we're a bit beyond that, sweetheart," he sneered back.

The Empress towered over the hole to the centre of the earth beneath them. She gave a maniacal chuckle. "My golden couple, together at last! Now, it is time! The secret heart unlocks, and they will waken from their sleep of ages, my children, the long lost Racnoss… and they will feed!"

Donna felt her heart beat faster. She tried desperately not to look down, but being face-down attached to a ceiling that proved somewhat difficult. When the Empress uttered her last terrible words, she felt all her hairs stand on end, a cold shock going down her spine. A golden glow shimmered all around her entangled body, and the particles flowed from her into the dark abyss below.

"And now, for dinner," the Empress purred at them.

Lance started to panic now. "Don't use me, use her!"

Donna gaped at him with all the disgust she could muster. But the Empress, it seemed, had other plans. "My funny little Lance," she laughed. "But you were quite impolite to your little lady earlier. The Empress does not approve."

She flicked a finger and the webs around Lance began to snap. Donna's eyes went wide in shock. "No, NO, Lance!" she yelled after him as he dropped into the waiting chasm to the centre of the earth. Tears began welling up without her even realising it. This was so unnecessary, so _senseless_.

Suddenly, the Empress cocked her head, like a cat. She sniffed the air. "Ah, the space traveller returns. Welcome, darling," she gestured towards one of the balconies.

"Empress, this ends now." Rose stepped up to the railing and clung to it. Donna tried to make out her face. She thought she saw a faint golden glow. She looked up and directly at Donna.

"First, I get my friend back," she simply stated in that deep voice of hers that scared Donna a little.

She felt the webs around her tear. " _No_ , I'm gonna fall!"

"You can swing, Donna!" Rose called out, still in that strange, clear voice. Donna didn't have much of a choice. She desperately clung to the only strand of web remaining and swung at dangerously accelerating speed towards the wall. She just managed to catch the railing as she slammed into it, and, a little disoriented and light-headed, with the last of her strength, climbed over it to stand by Rose.

However, Rose ignored her and kept her gaze locked on the giant spider. "I'm warning you," she threatened in a low voice. "End this now and I can take you with me when I leave. I can transport you somewhere where you don't hurt others."

The Empress barked a short laugh. "I think I'll have to decline." She pointed at the robots that were still waiting for orders on all the balconies. "Kill her!"

But when they raised their weapons, Rose just waved a hand through the air and commanded, "stay."

"WHAT?!" the Empress boomed, staring at Rose.

The golden glow around Rose intensified.

"Who are you?!" the spider demanded, and Donna definitely detected fear in her voice now.

"I am the Bad Wolf," Rose simply stated. "and I will stop this, right _now_."


	5. The Light and the Void

**Chapter 5 – The Light and the Void**

Her body was expanding. The golden light streamed incessantly, filling the cavern, surrounding everything. She was vaguely aware of a loud and painful scream. She turned her glowing eyes on the creature that threatened this planet. Her planet. It needed protecting. The screaming stopped. The spider was gone, bursting into a golden cloud of terrible magnificence. The robots disappeared. The laboratory filled with golden light. Every vial, tube and container burst into radiance, glass splinters dissolved into sparkling showers of energy, and the laboratory was no more.

Rose was everywhere, in all of these places at once, she rewound time for each of the molecules she touched, making it so that they never were, turning them all to nothingness. She could see the spider's star outside of the city, and she willed it to be gone. A golden rain filled the skies. Warm, warm energy flowed through her body, filling the void in her heart, blinding her mind to the pain that was slowly building up behind her forehead. She felt she could dissolve in the embrace of this power, could become one with everything.

A voice. She heard a faint voice through the roaring storm. Something painful and cruel tugged on her very soul. She had to go back, but she found the thought of returning to reality almost unbearable. The woman in the wedding dress, the one she had just called her friend, was calling to her. She was worried, she was shouting her name.

With great difficulty, the Wolf turned around and looked at the woman.

"Rose, stop it! You've done it, we're safe! You can come back now!"

" _Why? Why would I let go of this_?" Rose asked, her voice alien to herself, her mind still filled with the beautiful white nothingness. All that mattered was time and space, and she saw it all. How could she be anything else?

"Rose, please! I need your help to get out of here!" The woman grabbed her hand, and her voice became gentle, her eyes pleading. "What about your family? And your Doctor? They need you, too! Stop this! Please!"

Rose blinked once, then twice, and the world came more into focus. The Doctor. Her heart gave a painful lurch. Her mother. Mickey. Pete. And Donna. She pulled away from the golden light inside her.

 _Go back, go back to the world, my Rose._

With a final effort, a tortured sob erupting from her lips, Rose staggered back into reality. The golden light faded, and her heart remembered. Tears were streaming down her face. She felt like a wound had been torn open again.

Donna grabbed her arms. " _Rose_! Come on!"

Suddenly, Rose realised what was happening around her; the entire lab was collapsing. The landing on which they were standing was giving way, and parts of the ceiling started to come down around them.

Rose just nodded briefly, her eyes now back in focus, her mind snapped back to the present. "The TARDIS," she said, and they ran.

X

They landed in a quiet street somewhere in Chiswick. It was late evening by now, the air was cold and clear, and there was no sign of any other Racnoss ships in the sky. Donna and Rose stepped out of the TARDIS together, and Rose brought out her shiny new sonic. She scanned Donna, now looking a bit worse for wear after all they'd been through.

"No more huon particles, as far as I can tell," Rose surmised with one eyebrow raised. "Not that I can guarantee it, but I think you're fine." She saw that Donna nodded, slightly hanging her head, looking sad. "…for all intents and purposes," she added quietly.

Donna sighed. "I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow, all on the same day."

Rose looked down. "I couldn't save him," she said.

"He deserved it," Donna said. Rose looked up and their eyes met. Donna sighed again. "No, he didn't," she amended. She looked about as heartbroken as you could get, and Rose felt her sympathy go out to her.

"Donna, I… wish there was something I could do. I am so sorry for all of this."

"Hey, it's not your fault."

They stood in silence for a moment. Rose wrapped her arms around herself. "You should go see your family, they're probably worried sick."

"Oh, let mum worry for a bit," Donna scoffed. "It'll do her good. But tell you what, why don't you join us. Christmas dinner, on us."

"Nah, I couldn't, I don't wanna intrude," Rose shifted uneasily on her feet. Memories of her last Christmas were still very present in her mind. "Anyway, I'd be a total buzzkill."

"Hey, you're speaking to the woman who botched her own wedding, talk about buzzkill, sweetheart," Donna gave a small smile. "But honestly… you shouldn't be alone."

"I… can't," Rose managed. "As much as I love the idea of this – right now, I just can't. Not when he's… while my family's still out there, celebrating without me. Also, I'm not sure I'm ready to answer any questions about what the hell happened today…" Rose gave Donna the best attempt at a cheeky grin.

Donna smiled sadly and enveloped Rose in a hug. "You go get your Doctor back, and your mum… and when you do, come visit, all right?"

"I will, I promise."

Donna pulled back and looked into her eyes, serious now. "And you be careful with that power of yours. Don't kill yourself trying to save them!"

Rose averted her eyes and turned to the TARDIS. She stepped inside, stopping at the door. "Donna? Thank you. For everything."

Donna walked a few steps, then turned back. "Rose? Who was it?"

"Who was what?"

"You said you couldn't go back to change something in time. What was it? Who did you lose?"

Rose stared at her for a moment. In front of her mind's eye, she saw the church, the car, her father lying in the street. She thought of the Pete in the parallel world, where the other Jackie died, where her mum was now, happily reunited, of sorts. She swallowed away a tear.

"My dad. He died, but it's… he's all right now because… well, it's complicated."

Donna smiled. "I'm getting the feeling with you it always is. Story for another time?"

Rose gave a small smile back. "Yeah, sure."

"And Rose? Don't do this alone. Find someone to help you, yeah? I think you might need someone to… bring you back sometimes." Donna turned away and walked to her house, back to her family, safe and sound…

Rose pressed her lips together tightly. "Yeah, sure," she said and walked up to the console, preparing to jump into the vortex. As the ship began humming and roaring around her, she leaned back, letting the long day sink in. She felt exhausted, and despite her double heartbeat, very, very human. She looked at the time rotor and said, "I've had about enough of it for one day. You?" The rotor hummed gently as they hung suspended in the time vortex.

"Yeah, time for a kip," she concluded, and headed for the Doctor's bedroom.

X

The Doctor was surrounded by darkness. He wasn't even aware that everything was missing from his perception; he merely let his consciousness float in the non-knowledge of anything but black for the moment. The only thing in existence was a beautiful, heart-rending melody in his mind. There was only that, and he clung to it, like a lifeline. He needed that sound like he needed air to breathe.

All of a sudden, he felt the song fading, moving further away from him. He was aware of a voice in the darkness. As the song diminished, he could feel a void forming in his mind. He sensed the acute lack of others of his kind, and the lack of the TARDIS' soothing presence. He remembered he was alone.

A woman's voice was calling to him. He felt soft hands on his face, on his eyes, on his pulse. A woman. Rose. His Rose, who was always so worried for him. She would know what to do. She would be able to fill the void.

He noticed he was lying on the hard ground. He also noticed, a little late, that his whole body was aching and burning in painful stabs. He ascertained in dizzy detachment that his left arm appeared to be broken. He tried to open his eyes.

"Sir? Can you hear me?" The voice again. Through blurry vision, he saw a young woman bent over him. It wasn't Rose. She was holding his wrist with one hand, still feeling for a steady pulse.

"What…?" he tried to move, and more pain stabbed through him. A sinking feeling also settled in his stomach as the memory of what happened to Rose returned. A small sob escaped his lips.

"Please don't move," she pressed down eagerly on his shoulder to keep him steady. He felt he couldn't muster much resistance for the moment. She spoke slowly and deliberately, keeping eye contact, trying to make sure he was with her. "There has been an accident. You're hurt. But it's okay, I'm a medic, we're here to help."

The Doctor tried to look around. His senses were slowly coming back into focus. The laboratory around him was in shambles, there was debris everywhere, tables turned over, bodies – alive or dead, he could not tell – slumped over the broken equipment. He smelled burning, something acidic, sharp and unpleasant. It was warm, and there was a fire still being put out somewhere by helpers that were mingling among the destruction.

The medic was trying to keep him focused. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," he mumbled.

"Good. Let's see," she smiled and pulled up her stethoscope. "I'm Martha Jones, what's your name?"


	6. Smith and Jones

**Chapter 6 – Smith and Jones**

 _The Doctor was quiet on the trip back to parallel England. Initially, the Tylers and Mickey had discussed Rose's message at length, trying to puzzle out what she planned to do. Both Pete and Mickey, having experience with Torchwood, were pessimistic. They didn't voice it, but the Doctor could tell from the looks they were giving each other whilst Jackie enthusiastically rattled on, repeating Rose's words over and over, like a lifeline, giving herself hope._

" _And did you see her face? She was looking so strong and, and, like she really knew what's what, I can tell you! And all the things she's learned from you, eh Doctor? It's surely not gonna take long for my Rose to figure all of this out, you mind my words. She'll be flying us out of her in no time! 'I'll come back for you', did you hear her? Oh, Doctor, you don't deserve her, she's magnificent…" Jackie trailed off for breath. The Doctor looked up to meet her eyes. Jackie's eyes went a bit wider as she saw the pain in his face and was quiet for the moment. She knew just as well as the Doctor that she was only talking to keep herself from thinking about the alternative. That he was right._

 _Yes, she is magnificent, he thought. She always had been, even when she was just this shop girl he'd saved from the living plastic. Shop girl no longer. But what was she now? He closed his eyes, and saw her once again crystal clear before him. She was glowing, like the TARDIS… and the faint music… it was like his old ship was trying to tell him something. How had Rose been able to fly her? How could she be so confident? Yet there was also desperation in her voice, like… like someone taking the most drastic of measures – consequences be damned._ Oh Rose, what have you done?

 _And now she was all alone, with no family and no Time Lord. What was she going to do? He sighed and looked out of the window of the jeep. He knew exactly what she would do. She would tear apart the TARDIS until she found a way to reconnect their universes to get back to them. Just like last time they were separated, when he sent her away. Fear and pain gripped his hearts, burning up his mind. Even_ he _didn't know all the secrets of his fantastic ship, but he knew that there were many dangers to be discovered… the eye of harmony, for one. A desperate human could do so much damage without meaning to. What if she died in the process, all alone, adrift in space, never to be found again by any living thing? What if she looked into the heart of the TARDIS again and he wasn't there to help her?_

 _He looked over to Jackie again, defeat settling in his shoulders. "Doctor?" she asked quietly._

" _Hmm?"_

" _Do you think she'll do it? Can she find a way back?"_

 _He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I… honestly don't know Jackie. And I don't even know what to hope for."_

 _She quickly looked away, tears in her eyes._

X

Martha placed the stethoscope on the man's chest to check his heart and lungs. She tried to concentrate, but found it difficult with all the noise around them. Their team had arrived quite late, and with the country in a general ongoing crisis, there were never enough ambulances to go around. Of course, this Torchwood place they'd been sent to was a government institute, and thus had been flagged as a priority. Martha couldn't help but bristle at the preferred treatment for the rich and powerful – yet at the same time, with the global Cybermen threat still not dealt with, it was probably places like these that were working on solutions. Yet the image of the destroyed lab and the many injured staff had chased any stray thoughts right out of her mind. These were people in need and they were here to help.

The man on the ground before her groaned slightly. "Don't… tell anybody," he rasped.

Martha narrowed her eyes and searched his face. "What?"

"About me… Please," he added quietly, before he fell unconscious once again.

Martha frowned as she felt his forehead and listened to his chest intently, making sure his passing out wasn't an indicator for things taking a worse turn. Suddenly, she froze. She moved the stethoscope back and forth over his chest twice. First she thought his heart rate was simply accelerated, but another examination confirmed it. Two heartbeats, a little fast, but strong.

She instantly remembered all the rumours she had heard about government experiments to battle the Cybermen. Were there really such things as enhanced humans? Was this lab breeding mutations to fight the threat? She looked at his face. He didn't look mutated or strange, he just looked like a normal man. His suit was torn, and his arm lay at his side at an odd angle.

She shook her head to disperse the musings; there was no time for this. She grabbed some equipment from her bag and began checking his arm. It was broken in two places, as far as she could tell without more technical equipment. She reached around it gently and put it in a splint as best she could. As she came closer, she heard the man mumble desperately with his eyes closed. She could make out the words "rose" and "dimensions", and frowned. She checked his head and determined that he probably had a concussion and was delirious. Perhaps this explained his strange heartbeat.

"Hey you! What are you doing?" someone called out to her. She turned around, and a man with red hair stumbled towards her through the debris. As he came closer, she recognized him – it was the guy who used to sell sports drinks or something. Definitely one of the rich folk.

Flashing an ID card, and despite being out of breath, he didn't give her a chance to speak. "I'm Pete Tyler, director of Torchwood Institute. Please leave this man to me."

Martha got up and positioned herself defensively in front of the man's unconscious body. "He's got a concussion and a broken arm, he needs to go to the hospital," she countered.

"Trust me, he really doesn't. We have a medical facility here in the building, we'll take care of him."

Martha narrowed her eyes. This definitely seemed to confirm her theory of secret genetic experiments. "Look, Mr. Tyler, I have examined him, and I say he needs a hospital! I am authorized to…"

"You aren't authorized to do anything _here_ ," he interrupted her sharply and took a step closer. "You are furthermore hereby informed that anything you see or hear inside this building is classified and not to be discussed. If you breathe a word to anyone, you'll find yourself out of a job fairly quickly, make no mistake."

Martha stood her ground angrily. From up close, she saw that he, too, was dishevelled and his suit was dirty and torn, but he seemed to have sustained no more serious injury. His words carried anger and warning, but when she saw his eyes, she noticed in surprise that he just looked tired and wary. It was almost like he had to say these things, but didn't really want to.

"I think it's more important to worry about somebody's well-being than some non-disclosure agreement! Just let me do my job!" she added and kneeled down next to her patient again. Pete Tyler stood for a moment, watching her slowly take the man's jacket off to treat his minor burns. From her glances around the room, she noticed that her two medic colleagues were being ushered from the room as well, and she thought she saw some people who were definitely armed.

Her heart beat a little faster. On the one hand, she knew she should just leave it, bow her head, and relinquish this man to their care. She couldn't afford to lose her job over this, and she certainly didn't want to find out what else the government had in store for her if she refused to cooperate. Everything she'd experienced so far in life told her to drop it and leave. Just go. _Don't be that person,_ she told herself. _Do the smart thing and leave. Mum will kill you._

She slowly continued to apply an antibiotic salve to the small burns and cuts the man had sustained. Pete Tyler crouched next to her, frowning. "Please, Miss…"

"Jones."

"Please, Miss Jones, you don't understand." He ran a hand wearily over his face. "I don't want any trouble for you, honestly. I just really need you to let us take care of this ourselves."

Martha paused in her ministrations but did not look up. For a second longer, she debated with herself, when more footsteps approached.

"Boss? We got the fire under control. You should…" he paused. Martha looked up and saw a young man in t-shirt and jeans stand before them, eyes riveted on the prone figure before her. "Oh God, is he…?" She noticed Pete Tyler giving him a quick intense look, shaking his head.

"He's going to be fine," Martha said pointedly, "if your boss will just let me treat him properly. At a hospital," she added and threw a withering look at the director.

"Mickey, could you please escort this lady out?" He grabbed her arm, though not forcefully, and stood up. She got up with him but wriggled free of his grasp immediately. He sighed. "Please, Miss Jones, just trust me. We'll take care of him. If there's anyone we need alive and well, it's him, so you can be sure that we will do everything in our power to make him better. Please," he pleaded with her now.

Martha gave an irritated snort. She could guess what they needed him for, and wasn't convinced it was for the patient's best. But she also saw that she was outnumbered. She sighed and grabbed her bag, stuffing her things in quickly. She gave one last glance to the man on the ground.

"Come on," the guy called Mickey held out an arm to lead her away.

Just when she was through the double doors to the lab, she could hear someone else talking. "Who called the medics? I thought we never…"

"I think Milton panicked," added Pete, and began giving out orders to clean up the lab and take people to the medical bay, his voice growing fainter as Mickey and Martha made their way to the staircase.

Mickey was trying to be casual. "Hey, sorry about the boss, this whole thing has him on edge, of course, but he's a good guy. I'm Mickey, by the way."

Martha shot him a look and didn't reply. Mickey smiled. "Honestly, the Doctor's in good hands, don't worry about him."

"The Doctor?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind," Mickey said quickly and opened the door to the stairwell. When they were inside, Martha stopped on the landing, planting herself in front of him.

"Look, I don't know who you all are or what exactly you're doing here, but that man did not… sound normal. There was something wrong with his heart, and he needs medical attention!" When Mickey tried to say something, she just cut him off. "And don't try to bullshit me, because I know what's going on. You need him for some crazy experiments or genetic manipulation stuff or whatever it is you're doing and I can tell you right now that it's not ethical and not all right, and I'll be talking to someone about it, even if it costs me my job." She took a deep breath.

Mickey's eyes widened and he had a small smile on his face. "Blimey, you got us all worked out, haven't you?" he grinned.

"Do you think this is funny?!" she shot back. "You're taking this awfully lightly! There are people injured in there!"

He shook his head and raised his hands in defence. "Look, Miss…" he glanced at the small nametag on her med-unit jacket. "Miss Jones, I know what this looks like. But believe me, we're not the bad guys here. We're not evil scientists and he's not a genetic experiment. We're just fighting the good fight, and so is the Doctor. But we can't have the officials asking questions." He stepped a little closer and lowered his voice. "Our work here is too important to jeopardise."

Martha searched his eyes. They seemed open and honest, but what did that mean, nowadays? No matter how 'everyday kinda guy' he looked, he certainly worked for a mysterious employer. She remembered the Doctor's words – if that was his name – how he'd pleaded with her to not tell anybody. Maybe he was delirious, but he seemed to think that was top priority before he lost consciousness again.

She debated some more with herself. "I just wanted to help," she said, now quieter than before.

"Very admirable," Mickey smiled. "But in the interest of your own safety, stay out of this."

"Is that a threat?" she bristled.

"No," Mickey said, all traces of humour gone from his face. "Unfortunately, it's a fact," he said sadly. Martha briefly wondered how many accidents there had been already where nobody panicked enough to call the medics. She reluctantly let herself be escorted downstairs.

They emerged from a small emergency exit at the side of the large, nondescript building. If Martha hadn't been told they were going to a government institute, she would have thought this was an abandoned office. From the outside, nothing gave any hint as to the extremely high-tech facilities inside.

Mickey lingered by the door. "So…" he began, casually glancing at his trainers. "After threatening your job, chucking you out and refusing to tell you anything…" he glanced up a little sheepishly. "Any chance of getting your number?"

Martha was taken aback. She had to admit, the guy had cheek. And he was perhaps, just perhaps, a little bit cute in the way he asked. _Blimey, am I that desperate_ , she admonished herself.

"Um…" she floundered a little. "Your mysterious secret lab just exploded and… you're asking me for my number?"

"No time like the present," he looked up. "If this job's taught me anything is that the universe has a way of messing up your life, so… I'll take my chances."

"Huh," she shook her head in disbelief. But a small voice in the back of her mind nudged her. This could end up being useful. "Sure," she finally smiled somewhat non-committedly. "I mean, it's not your fault your lab exploded… I hope," she added as Mickey's face lit up. She grabbed a scrap of paper from her bag and quickly scribbled down her number. "It's… Martha, by the way," she added, and handed him the note.

Mickey grinned. "Now if I ever scrape my knee, I know whom to call," he winked. "See ya around, Martha!" He turned quickly and bolted back up the stairs.

Seeing how this had apparently made his day, Martha felt a little guilty. But she realised she was smiling as she walked back to the ambulance. What a confusing day.

X

In front of the Torchwood office building, Martha spotted her ambulance, as well as two police cars. An official looking receptionist stood in front of the roped-off entrance to the building and tried to argue with the policemen. Evidently Martha and her team had been so early on the scene that they hadn't had time to seal off the building at all. They weren't letting anyone in to check or help, she noted bitterly. She hoped the Doctor and the other injured people were indeed treated in whatever kind of medical facility they had in there. The director hadn't seemed like a bad guy, and she felt like he didn't mean to harm anyone. But perhaps he was also a good actor.

Her mates back at the ambulance already had another call waiting and were shooing her to hurry up. She jumped in the front and as soon as she'd slammed the door shut, they were off.

For the rest of the day she didn't really find time to think about what happened too much. When she got home, she tried to slink by her mother as quickly as she could.

"You're late again," she heard her voice from the kitchen.

"Accident on the high street," Martha briefly shouted back. "I'll be upstairs, mum…"

"Wait a moment!"

Martha winced and stopped on the stairs as her mother slipped out of the kitchen and joined her. Her hair was in disarray. She was wearing a dressing gown, holding a half-filled coffee mug.

"Have you called that Stephen guy? About the flat?"

"Mum, I haven't had time! Ever since you gave me his number, I've been either at work or asleep, with the occasional bathroom break."

"Don't take that tone with me. I'm just trying to help!"

Martha rolled her eyes. "Mum, I know, and I'm not saying you're not, but I'll do it in my own time, okay?"

"What's that then, your own time?" her mother heckled. "You have a job! You should be independent! What good is it that they're working you to death when you can't even move out! I just said to Tish that…"

"Yes, Tish, who we all know, is perfect!" Martha spat, exasperated. "If you don't mind me, I'm tired." She bolted upstairs and slammed her door shut. She threw her jacked on her bed that was crammed from wall to wall in her room. She snorted once again in anger, but then switched on her laptop and tried to put the argument out of her mind.

She hesitated a moment before she opened her browser. She hadn't gone on CybusNet, or what was left of it, for years. Everybody knew it was highly dangerous, infected with every virus ever conceived on the planet. The global information system formerly developed by the Lumic corporation had now been taken over completely by hackers, rebels and rogue elements all over the globe. No piece of information could be trusted, and the Net was more likely to destroy your computer than anything else.

Martha went to an old netsite she knew and punched in a few access codes. If you knew the right places, or rather, the right people behind them, you could get through safe roads and areas to find information, even if it was patchy. She typed in 'Torchwood' and waited.


	7. Torchwood

**Chapter 7 – Torchwood**

Pete hovered by the side of the medical bed, anxiously watching the Doctor. He felt desperate to do something – everything in him told him to pick up a scanner, some bandages, a frickin' wet cloth, anything, to help the injured man. But he did not. Before they had properly begun working at Torchwood together, the Doctor had sat him down to talk _rules_.

" _Remember, this is important, Pete: Never. EVER. Let anyone take me to a hospital. I once regenerated after a botched operation and woke up in a morgue. No need to relive that."_

" _But what if you're injured, like, not dying, but say you burn yourself or break a leg or something?"_

 _The Doctor raised his index finger at him to make his point. "No hospitals, not even for a lopped-off arm. Get it?"_

Pete still had doubted him then. He'd been through this with Mickey and Jackie, and both of them had sworn to trust the Doctor, ultimately, even, as Jackie added, if he could sometimes do with a good slap.

They'd had to reorganize their lives after the events that brought the Doctor and Jackie to their world. Pete and Jackie had released an official statement whereby it turned out that she wasn't actually dead, but had been in a coma all this time, which had gone over surprisingly well. After the original Cybermen incident, Mickey and Jake had moved in, and the Preachers continued their work under the Tylers' protection. Three years later, they uncovered what the parallel Torchwood was up to, and alerted the government, who promptly took over the institute and installed them all as new staff members. In all the chaos and debate, the Cybermen had infiltrated Torchwood and used their technology to slowly but surely cross over into the other universe. Pete and the team built the dimension hoppers to go after them, and well, the rest was history. Countries all over the world were destabilized, and anarchy still reigned over many parts of the globe. Torchwood was trying to stand against the chaos, and helped wherever they were needed. Now that Pete had Jackie again, he felt that finally his wild anger at the metal men abated, and he was able to work with a renewed vigour.

And then there was the Doctor. Having him on the team was a godsend, really. Without him, their technological advances could never have begun working so quickly, and without his knowledge they might have fallen into the occasional trap far too easily. But he had his rules.

" _I will help you," he had told them all when they discussed it at the mansion. "Because I am… grateful for what you've done for me." He swallowed away a lump in his throat. Pete saw that it was still difficult for him to speak on such equal ground with all the humans. He wanted to be off, running through time and space, and here he was, stuck with them._

" _I am glad I am here, with you, rather than somewhere else in this universe. And I'll help you work with Torchwood for the benefit of this universe; under one condition. I will also use_ any _means and ways at our disposal to try and find a way back to my own."_

" _Of course you will!" Jackie's sudden outburst made Pete jump. "Do you think I never want to see my daughter again? You'll do whatever it takes to get her back, won't you Doctor?"_

 _He directed his dark, brooding gaze to her. "Nothing in this universe or the next could stop me."_

 _Pete shuddered a little. He got up. "That's settled then," he tried to sound cheerful and held out his hand. "It will be good to have you on board, Doctor."_

 _The Doctor clasped his hand and merely nodded curtly._

This had been the first rule, and it was followed by quite a few more. The hospital one, Pete learned to adhere to. But it went on to "don't question the maths", "it's a Time Lord thing, you wouldn't understand", and finally "whatever I say is done", on which Pete fought him constantly.

He looked down at the unconscious Doctor, and noted how Cho Li, the one medic Torchwood actually had on staff, flitted around the room almost reverently. Even knocked out cold, this man had more authority here than him. He sometimes felt like a puppet director, merely representing the company up front, keeping up appearances, whilst the alien ran things behind the scenes.

Mickey entered the room and stood next to him quietly. After a moment, he reported. "We've cleaned up most of the mess. Jake and Pippa are fine, they weren't badly burned. We gave Milton a stern talking-to, and I think he's so terrified he'll never call any emergency services again." Mickey gave a snort that sounded like a laugh and Pete raised an eyebrow.

"So how is he?" Mickey glanced at the man in the torn-up suit.

"Still not waking up," Pete sighed. "I don't dare to check on him, and Cho is afraid to even be in the same room for fear of messing up something. He really keeps us on edge, doesn't he."

Mickey looked at the Doctor for a moment. "It was too soon," he said quietly.

Pete looked at him and frowned at the closed-off, dark look he found on his face. "I know," he said thoughtfully. "But try telling him that."

"I did," Mickey said. "We knew the portal couldn't work. Pippa tried, Jake tried, we all argued with him, but he wouldn't listen. And now look at the damage. People could have died."

"I know. Also, we need to be careful. Those medics got in here way too easily. We need to talk with security. And we can't afford to blow up the lab every week. It'll draw too much attention. Even Harriet Jones' patience will run out eventually."

Mickey turned fully and gave Pete a stern look. "I know the Doctor is practically a saint around here, and everybody worships the ground he walks on, but he can't put us in danger like that all the time, it's not worth it."

Pete searched his face, still frowning. "Isn't it?" he said quietly after a moment.

Mickey remained impassive, shot one last look at the Doctor and left.

x

Pete made a few phone calls, but remained in the med bay. Over the next couple of hours, the Doctor seemed to be occasionally glowing slightly, and Pete looked on, fascinated. After a while, the Doctor stirred and sat up slowly, a hand to his head. "Phew," he exhaled, and a small golden cloud burst from his mouth. "That was a close one this time, wasn't it?"

He hopped off the bed. "Still, no harm done, so back to work!"

Pete got up quickly and held his arm. The Doctor winced a little and Pete withdrew his hand quickly, but remained blocking his path. "Doctor, you should take it slowly, you were badly injured. How's the arm?"

The Doctor flexed it a little and shrugged. "Still a bit sore, but no longer broken. I'm fine."

Pete shook his head and stared at it, incredulously. "How… how do you do that?!"

He shrugged again and tried to avoid the man's gaze. "Oh, just Time Lord biology. I don't have to use up a full regeneration every time I get a bruise. We heal quickly."

"Doctor, that wasn't just a bruise. You had a bad concussion and were out of it for several hours. Will you at least let Cho have a look at you?"

The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Please," Pete added. "It would make us all a little more comfortable if we at least pretended you needed medical attention once in a while, okay?"

The Doctor looked around, exasperated. "All right, but…"

"Afterwards, you're going home. Jackie's cooking tonight and you need a good night's sleep. And don't give me that look; I know you haven't slept in days. Superior biology is neither here nor there, you need to be rested and healed properly before I let you anywhere near that machine again. Got it?"

Pete never pulled rank on anyone, usually. But he was getting tired of this man's reckless behaviour and puppeteering. He was in charge, and just for once, the Doctor could bloody well acknowledge it. To his surprise, the Doctor deflated a little and his shoulders slunk in defeat. "All right," he said and sat down on the med bed again. He ran a hand over his neck, looking tired. "Do what you gotta do, Pete."

Pete sat down again and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Somehow, winning this argument didn't make him feel any better; on the contrary, seeing the indomitable alien in a moment of weakness brought back all his own doubts about their situation.

"It was too soon, Doctor."

The Doctor looked up. He looked at Pete for a while before answering. His eyes were filled with the haunted look that had been their constant companion ever since Norway. "I… I thought it could work, I really did. It was supposed to work. I don't know where it went wrong…"

"There are so many variables here," Pete began.

"I know, I know, it's a different universe, different laws of time and space… still getting used to it I guess." He looked around the med bay, absent-mindedly running his hands through his hair again.

"We all want it to work, desperately, but rushing things won't help. Next time, please take your time and be careful, all right?" He sighed. "We're all anxious to… see her again, Doctor."

The Doctor snapped his eyes back to Pete, who already regretted mentioning her. Rose was the proverbial pink elephant in the room – everybody was thinking about her constantly, but nobody ever mentioned her if they could help it. He often found Jackie sitting somewhere with a far-off look on her face, as if she was searching for her somewhere he couldn't see. Whilst he himself had not known Rose very well, he wanted a way back just for his wife's sake. He thought of Rose as their daughter, and he felt just as worried about Rose's wellbeing as everyone else. But whenever somebody mentioned her, the Doctor became even more reclusive and strange than he usually was. Pete didn't want to use her as an argument, but ultimately it was time for the Doctor to realise he wasn't getting her back with a quick fix. This needed time, precision, and most of all, concentrated team effort instead of the extreme risks he'd been taking mostly by himself.

"I'll find a way back, Pete. There's got to be a way. There's always a way."

"I know. If anyone can find it, it's you." Pete said quietly. The Doctor sent him a pained and thoughtful look.

Pete finally got up and asked in Cho to give the Doctor the once over. When she stepped in, the Doctor put on his somewhat fake, charming smile, and Pete saw Cho blush and adjust her glasses. Pete rolled his eyes and left.

x

About half an hour later, Cho pronounced the Doctor healthy and ready to go. He hopped off the biobed and noticed once again how incredibly shy the medic was. She seemed nice enough, but had apparently trouble looking him in the eyes. He constantly tried to be friendly, but it never helped. Maybe he wasn't adjusting so well to living among humans for so long. Sure, he'd done it before, when he was exiled to Earth… but he had the TARDIS then, as a room of his own; a space where he could just be himself.

Now he was constantly under supervision. Everyone around him seemed to expect him to do great things, and to fix _everything_ eventually. He was the genius, the alien, the expert from another universe – surely if he couldn't figure it out, no one could.

He rummaged around in his hastily filled locker in the corridor. He found a replacement suit and decided it was time to get rid of the torn one. He bundled it up and went to sonic himself clean and get changed. As he adjusted his tie, he sauntered back into the main laboratory space. What he saw there made him stop and stare. The entire room was in shambles. The central apparatus of the dimension portal they'd tried to build had partly blown up, and around it, the original blast radius could still be discerned on the floor. There were dark burnt areas all over the place, and some of the lights weren't working, but the clean-up crews had apparently been busy while he'd been out of it. He felt a stab of guilt.

He walked over to the apparatus and examined it. There was nothing to be done, he realised. It was completely fried, and if they wanted to try again, they'd have to rebuild it. As if reading his thoughts, a voice behind him said, "you're not rebuilding it."

The Doctor turned around to look at Mickey, who wore a dark look on his face. "Forget it. This was the worst one yet."

He felt his anger rise, but he tried to keep friendly. "It wasn't so bad… if we can re-adjust the power couplings, next time will…"

"You re-adjusted them last week. There won't be a next time. I've had enough of you putting other people in danger."

Okay, the anger was definitely bubbling to the surface now. "Oh, _you've_ had enough? And since when does Torchwood care about what Mickey the Idiot thinks," he snapped.

But Mickey, annoyingly, remained calm. "Since Pete happens to trust me. Which is more than can be said of you, Doctor, so you better learn to listen."

The Doctor stepped towards him. "Listen?! I don't have time to listen, Mickey. There is no time for any of these authority games, no time to lean back and just take it slowly. We must…" he caught himself. This was pointless. He ran a hand through his hair and turned away. "Forget it. If you don't want to get back, fine. You've made this place your home. But I've got to, you understand me? I've got to."

Mickey snorted. "Oh look at you now. All panicky and eager. I've seen you with Rose," Mickey said in a lowered voice, and the Doctor flinched ever so slightly. "For two years she was pining for you, making eyes at you and following you to hell and back – and what happened? Nothing."

The Doctor felt a numbness creep into his mind. He glanced back at Mickey darkly. "Stop it," he growled quietly.

"Oh, and don't pretend," he stepped closer to him. "You never made a move, never gave something back for all she gave up for you. Hell, she was willing to leave all of us behind just to be with you. Do you realise that? But you never did anything about it, did you! And now you pretend to need to go back so desperately to find her – you had all the time in the world, and now it's too late, and you regret it. You know, Doctor, out of the two of us, I think you're the way bigger idiot."

Mickey's words burned through his mind. Oh, he wished he wasn't right. But he certainly didn't need another man remind him of what he'd squandered away. "Don't you think I don't know that?!" he brought out between his teeth, just as Mickey turned to go. "Oh Mickey, if you could only get out of your tiny little head for once and see the bigger picture. What's between me and Rose is none of your business," he turned around and fastened a threatening glare on Mickey, who tried to stand his ground. "But for your information, I am not just trying to satisfy my own regrets. _I am trying to save her LIFE!_ " The last words had gradually become louder and louder until he shouted them in Mickey's face. Some people in the lab turned around with worried looks.

Mickey started to shoot a reply, but then stopped himself a moment and took a breath. "What do you mean, save her life?"

Oh god, he really hadn't caught on, the Doctor thought, exasperated. But then, a nagging voice in his mind whispered, _you really never told anyone what you suspected. Should you now?_

He sighed and looked around for a bit, pondering. He absent-mindedly picked up a chair and righted it, then ran a hand down his neck. "She…"

"Doctor…" Mickey began, "what's wrong with Rose?"

"She did something… to herself, I think. I cannot be sure," he added quickly, "but I think she changed, somehow. To get back to us." _Back to me_ , he thought sadly. He flopped down in the chair, feeling pretty exhausted still.

"What do you mean?" Mickey frowned, all traces of anger blown away. He sat down on one of the burnt crates next to the Doctor.

He sighed again. "Do you remember, when I was still the other me, the previous me. And I sent her home in the TARDIS…" Mickey nodded.

"I sent her away from me – not because I wanted to, but because I thought I was gonna die. I just wanted to keep her safe," he hung his head.

"I remember," Mickey answered curtly. "She was devastated. She couldn't accept that she was back home. And then there were these words everywhere… Bad Wolf…" the Doctor's head snapped up. "It was like, all over the walls, the ground, everywhere. And she said she had to get back to you, that it was a message… she said she'd go back for you, even if she had to die." Mickey's voice caught and he paused to look away.

"You were there?"

Mickey took a deep breath before he continued. "I helped her, but mostly it was Jackie. She brought a tow truck to open that hatch in the TARDIS. Rose said the ship was… telepathic. That she just had to find a way to tell it what to do. We managed to open the hatch, and there was… this light. I don't know what happened next tho, the TARDIS just disappeared." He was silent for a moment, then looking at the Doctor, an irritated look on his face. "And the next thing we knew she's bringing a total stranger home the following Christmas! Honestly, sometimes, I wish you saw things from our perspective. You know how worried we were?"

The Doctor ignored the remark. But this _did_ put things into perspective a little. Rose had never mentioned that Mickey and Jackie, of all people, had made it possible for her to come back. Well… they'd never talked about that incident on the gamestation at all, ever. He closed his eyes briefly and saw her again before him… the golden light streaming out of the TARDIS, her very skin charged with the power she wielded… for his sake. _I want you safe, my Doctor…_

"Doctor?" Mickey tried after a moment of silence. "Is that what you're saying? Did she do that again?"

He sighed and leaned on his legs, then finally looked back at Mickey. "When she opened the heart of the TARDIS, Rose looked into the Time Vortex. No one is meant to do that. She had the power to unravel the universe in that moment. She overcame the Daleks that were destroying humanity, almost 200.000 years in your future. She just… waved her hand and they were gone. They never existed," he said, the amazement still fresh in his voice. "Jack... had been killed. She brought him back to life."

Mickey looked stunned, and about to say something but the Doctor continued. "The words, Bad Wolf, were there on the station; name of the owners I think. It was a paradox; they didn't actually mean anything. But she took the words and spread them throughout our shared history. They came up everywhere we went, again and again. That's how they became powerful. She laid them out like bread crumbs. Remember Cardiff?"

"Hang on," Mickey said, still staring at him. "You say the words were already everywhere, at the point when we saw them back home… but then what if she hadn't managed to open up the TARDIS? What if Jackie hadn't had a truck? How could… time… possibly…?" He stopped and shook his head.

"There is no 'what if'," the Doctor simply said. "The Time Vortex doesn't distinguish between past and present… something either happens or doesn't happen, and by making the decision to come back, Rose sealed this event forever as something fixed. Something we were always heading towards."

"So what happened?"

"The power… it was too much for a mere human to handle. Even a Time Lord can't. She could have died. I took the power away from her in time," he said, his voice quiet.

 _He remembered the feel of his lips on hers. Why had he not kissed her again after that? Had he been too afraid?_

He cleared his throat. "It destroyed my body. I regenerated, and… took Rose home for Christmas," he finished.

Mickey frowned, still looking horrified. "She did all that, and… and now she might be doing the same thing?"

The Doctor's eyes darkened. "No. I think she has _already done_ the same thing. Because she doesn't know much about the TARDIS – but she knows _that_. She knows it worked once, so she did it again."

"But we were speaking to her! She was right there! She looked fine!"

The Doctor gestured at him. "That's just it! She shouldn't have been able to appear to us, let alone been able to fly the TARDIS to that supernova in the first place. Yet she did. She changed, she learned somehow. The TARDIS is a powerful ship, it's a living, thinking creature when it comes down to it. She has immense power to do unspeakable things – and like you said…"

"She wouldn't hesitate," Mickey whispered.

The Doctor looked into his eyes. "Mickey, I know you doubt me, and perhaps for good reason. But please believe this: Rose is in terrible danger, and it is only a matter of time before wielding this kind of power will consume her. We need to get back before she destroys herself and possibly everything around her in the process."

 _If she hasn't already,_ he thought darkly. But surely, if she were to die, he would know, wouldn't he? Would he know if the TARDIS was destroyed? He remembered her words. _You are no longer alone._ She had glowed, her hand on her heart… what had she meant? The only possible answer to that… he wouldn't even think it. It was impossible. It would kill her. Might have already killed her.

"Oh God," Mickey said, the reality of everything finally hitting home.

"And me… everyone expects me to just… _fix_ this and find a way out of every problem," the Doctor pushed himself to his feet. "But I don't know what to do anymore. I'm out of ideas. 900 years and I've never felt so… lost." He turned to Mickey. "You see, now?"

Mickey looked up at him, and looked at the lab around them. "Yeah," he said.


	8. Investigations

**Chapter 8 – Investigations**

"So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that you only went out with me 'cause you wanna know more about Torchwood?"

Martha leaned back and gave her best mock-undignified scoff. "What! I am shocked, sir, mortified even! I'll have you know I only go out with boring men. Nice, boring office workers, home by five."

They both laughed and Martha took a sip from her drink. They were sitting in a small, crammed booth in the cheapest restaurant this end of London had to offer without basically poisoning you. Mickey had called her two days after her frantic search for information, and she felt she was ready – both with some questions, and also, even though she didn't admit it to herself, for an actual date.

"But seriously though," Mickey began and lowered his gaze to the table.

Martha swirled her drink around in her glass and eyed him thoughtfully. "Probably a 12," she said and smirked.

"Ouch!" Mickey looked up and winced. "Harsh, that's harsh, girl."

Martha laughed. "Well, I'll say it started at a 15, so I've deducted some for the excellent company," she smiled at him. Mickey grinned. In all honesty, Martha had actually really enjoyed herself all evening. She had definitely been wary to begin with, but as it turned out, Mickey was a funny, easy-going guy, and she liked him. He hadn't mentioned Torchwood so far, and certainly hadn't tried to brag about it; just like her, he seemed to prefer this dingy hole to anything fancier, and he had a very winning smile. She found herself almost forgetting why she'd come in the first place. Almost.

Mickey leaned back in his booth, and gestured his beer at her. "So, what do you wanna know?"

"What?"

"I'm serious now. Come on, I'm sure you've been looking. I've seen your reaction back at the lab. You didn't like what happened, and you didn't like being booted out."

"You bet I didn't!" She leaned on the table, staring at him in disbelief. She certainly hadn't expected this.

Mickey took a swig of his beer, then eyed her seriously. "Exactly. So you went and looked. What did you find?"

Martha glared at him with a smile. He had to go and call her out like this, didn't he. "Well." She crossed her arms on the table and leaned in, lowering her voice. "There's not many places to look, but I know a guy who collects data on the government's less well-known operations."

Mickey's eyebrows shot up, but she waved a hand dismissively. "Most of it is useless; conspiracy theories, that kind of thing. But there was some stuff about Torchwood – and if I hadn't seen it for myself, I would have classed it with the rest of the rubbish." She paused a little and searched Mickey's eyes, who were watching her attentively. "There's more than one source confirming these theories, however." She sighed. "Aliens. They… you deal with aliens. Or defend us from them, depending on who you believe on the net."

The fact that Mickey didn't bat an eyelash at this either meant that she was completely off the mark and he was a very clever actor not to start laughing; or she had hit the bullseye. Hoping it was the latter, she plunged on. "Also, you seem to be the leading authority in the world on the Cybermen. I know it started with Lumic, but the rumour is that people from Torchwood were the ones who ended it, or at least began fighting back. Some people think you're heroes. Others believe you were in on the whole thing and it's all a huge conspiracy."

Mickey looked into her eyes. "And what do you believe?"

Martha narrowed her eyes, then let out a long sigh. "I think you're definitely… dodgy. But I don't think you're a bad guy. I really want to believe you're the heroes, Mickey."

Mickey smiled and seemed to debate with himself for a moment. "Well, I wouldn't know about heroes, but I can tell you that much: We _were_ the ones who stopped Lumic. I was there. Me, the Doctor, Pete, and…" he stopped himself and his face fell a little, and he looked away. "Some other people," he finished. "We stopped the Cybermen and kept a whole bunch of people from being _upgraded_ ," he spat the last word derisively. "And we've been fighting them ever since," he finished, and took up his beer again.

Her eyes widened. "And what about the aliens?"

Mickey merely raised an eyebrow in answer.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "You're kidding me!"

Mickey grinned. "You know, just as a side note, it's nice not to be the one who needs all the explaining for a change. I've long since stopped being impressed with this sort of thing," he laughed a little.

"Oh look at you, Mr. Casual! I bet you tell that to all the girls! 'Aliens, please! All in a day's work!'" she mocked.

Mickey was quiet for a bit, then gave her a somewhat sad look, and not remotely rising to her 'subtle' inquiry about other girls. "You know, when I first learnt about aliens on Earth I didn't think it was impressive at all – I was scared shitless," he admitted.

Martha was startled to find that he was being completely serious and snapped out of the teasing mood a bit. "Oh come on, can't have been that bad," she said gently.

"Oh, it was!" He leaned forward again and lowered his voice. "There was this thing, yeah? This big, glowing, molten lava kinda _blob_ – lived in the sewers somewhere, hiding. Living plastic," he said, raising his eyebrows. "It controlled all the plastic, like, everywhere. Shop window dummies, rubbish bins, you name it. Look around you – everything is made of plastic, really."

Martha actually did glance around them, enthralled with the story. "The cash register," she whispered. Mickey nodded. "The chairs? Phones? Children's toys? Oh my god," she gasped as Mickey nodded again and again. "So what did you do?" She leaned forward a bit more.

"Me? Hah, I didn't do anything, like I told ya. I was cowering in fear by the wayside when the Doctor stepped in to save the day. Well, him and… well, it was a long time ago," he finished lamely. Martha got the feeling that he was heavily editing the story.

"So that's how you met this Doctor guy? Who is he?"

"Oh, I'm afraid that's actually classified, can't tell you. But I was terrified. Wish I could be like you, hearing about this sort of stuff in the safety of a backstreet pizza place!"

Martha grinned. "Not nearly as impressive though – but I suppose you're right. All right, answer me this then: how did you go from cowering to, you know, choosing this as a career?"

He laughed a little. "Yeah, I've come a long way, I'll say that much."

Martha leaned back and regarded him. He seemed so straightforward about the whole thing it was absurd; like he had gotten involved in things that were bigger than him, and at some point just kind of decided to go with it. "How… is it that you're telling me all this now? Aren't you gonna get in trouble?"

Mickey raised an eyebrow. "Why, are you gonna rat me out?"

Martha had to smile. "You're doing this simply because you trust me? That's a bit daft, what if I'm a government agent or something," she added with a cheeky look.

Mickey held up two fingers to count. "A, you don't strike me as a government agent the way you stood your ground at Torchwood yesterday, and B, if you are, I didn't really tell you anything that anyone would really believe anyway, did I?"

"Was that a compliment hidden in there somewhere?" She smirked and leaned forward again, eager to hear more. "But how did you actually end up here then? How does one join a secret government lab?"

"Why, you looking for a job?"

"Why, are you hiring?" She raised an eyebrow.

Mickey shrugged non-committedly. "Well, I sort of just… stumbled into it, you know? Long story."

"I've got time," she said.

"Nah, I gotta keep some things secret for the second date, otherwise I might never see you again," he said knowingly.

She allowed herself a small, serious smile. "What makes you think I never want to see you again?"

Mickey was quiet and eyed her thoughtfully with a somewhat sad look on his face. "You know what, it's a bit late, how about I walk you home?"

Martha felt a bit taken aback – first he was so open and cheery about everything, and now he suddenly closed up and wanted to leave. Had she said something wrong? Well, it _was_ late, she conceded, and maybe it would be good to sleep on the things she'd learned.

They paid, and Mickey walked her all the way to her block. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you?" She asked, sounding a bit more hopeful than she'd planned.

Mickey gave her a lop-sided smile. "You bet, girl," he said and lingered a little, before briefly kissing her on the cheek. She felt her cheeks getting warm as she blushed. He grinned, and turned to go. When he'd walked a few paces, he turned back. "Martha?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care, all right? Don't go asking too many questions… might be dangerous."

Martha hesitated for a second. She really couldn't promise him that. "I'll watch my back. Don't worry."

He just nodded, and left. Martha went home. When she lay in her bed that night, she found she couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about the strange lab. She hadn't asked any questions about the Doctor, even though Mickey had mentioned him. But she had an inkling that he might have clamped up completely if she'd gone there. Her thoughts went in circles, and from whichever angle she looked at it, she could not deny two things. One, she was developing crush on Mickey Smith, and two, she found she was definitely more intrigued by Torchwood than she knew was good for her.

X

The next morning, Martha groggily made her way to the Greenway medical facility where she worked. She definitely hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. She'd eagerly checked her phone in the morning, hoping for a message or something, but then admonished herself. She had to keep a cool head and not fall over her feet now.

She swiped her key card at the gate and stepped forward, straight into a closed barrier. The painful collision finally woke her up fully. "What the hell?" She swiped her key card again, and again. The red light stubbornly refused to turn green. She shook her head and walked around the side to the little window of the gate warden's office.

"Henry?" she called out, and heard someone bustle around inside. A slightly overweight head appeared at the window.

"What can I do you for, love?"

She held up her ID card. "My card isn't working. Can you open the gate for me?"

Henry sighed. "Oh that damned technology," he mumbled and with effort, shuffled out of the side door to join her. "Not to worry, I'll put a call through to IT, they can look at it later I suppose."

"That won't be necessary, Henry," came a woman's voice. They turned, and were faced with Mrs. Slater, the director of the facility. Martha had only seen her around a few times before. The woman still baffled her: she felt that the representative of one of the biggest medical wards in the city should, well, look the part. Mrs. Slater wore her mousy hair in a messy bun on her head, no makeup, her blouse hung limply over a skirt of no particular notice, and she was wearing flat sandals. She always gave the impression of being a bit of a scatter-brained librarian aunt, even though everyone in the facility somehow felt that she was doing a good job. At least, they never noticed anything to the contrary. She stepped closer and held up her hands. "So sorry, Henry. I've been messing with the security clearances, and Miss Jones will receive her new ID card tomorrow. Should have notified you, but you know how it is," she laughed. Henry and Martha were stealing glances at each other. Henry was suppressing a grin, but Martha looked back at Mrs. Slater warily. Why did her security clearance need _messing with_?

"Miss Jones, why don't you come with me, and we'll sort it out. I meant to pick you up anyway before you went to join your team this morning."

Martha shrugged. "Sure. See you, Henry."

Mrs. Slater held out a hand and Martha shook it. "I'm not sure we've met properly before. It's always so nice to speak to the young, eager people working here. I do like the enthusiasm you all bring to the job, I really do," she rattled on. Martha felt the wariness ebb away – this woman couldn't threaten a baby. There were probably just some technical issues to be sorted out; or perhaps she would be promoted, who knew.

They made polite conversation on the way to the office building next to the medical facility. She told Mrs. Slater how long she'd been working there, that she still lived with her family, and yes, for sure, these were difficult times. They took the elevator to the fourth floor. The building was a bit old and shabby, but then again, everything was these days. It seemed well-kept, though, and everywhere, office clerks were busy sorting files, carrying folders, working on computers. She remembered what she'd told Mickey about preferring to date a boring office worker and smiled to herself.

Mrs. Slater led them to her small office. It seemed a representation of the woman herself. There were stacks of paper everywhere, a sad looking pot plant was slowly dying away in a corner, and it smelled of coffee and dust. Martha was directed to a comfy chair in front of the messy desk, and Mrs. Slater sat opposite her, folding her hands.

"So! You're probably wondering what is going on. Well I won't beat around the bush, Martha – can I call you Martha? Well, Martha, you've been noticed," she said meaningfully.

Martha smiled. Promotion would mean she could finally move out from home, be more independent. She sat up straight, and listened attentively.

"What I mean to say, Martha dear, is that somebody noticed something in particular. Let me be frank," she added and pulled some glasses out of a pocket. Perching them atop her thin nose, she punched a few buttons on her keyboard and glanced at her computer screen. "Two days ago, you were called to an accident at a company called… Torchwood."

Martha felt a chill creeping up her spine. This didn't sound like a promotion after all. She also did not fail to notice that Mrs. Slater made it seem like she was not familiar with the name of the institute, but had glanced oddly at Martha when she said it.

Martha decided to stick to the truth for now. Who knew what information she had up on her screen at this time? "Yes, we were called in by Central as we were closest. Reports stated an explosion of some kind, with possible burn victims and casualties. There was also a fire team and the police at the scene." She tried to sound as professional as possible.

"Yes, quite right," Mrs. Slater said, sounding barely interested and scrolled through her computer. "I have been informed that neither you nor the other services were allowed to carry out your work, is that correct?"

Again, the woman gave the impression of being not quite there, but on closer inspection, Martha noticed a glint in her eyes, her strange, stiff posture that did not fit her persona, and the low undertone of her voice. She shifted uneasily in her seat.

"Yes, the uh, the police were at the entrance, but couldn't get in," she hedged. "I believe the fire had been dealt with when the fire team arrived, so they just… left."

"And what about your medic team, dear?"

 _She knows. Of course she knows._ Martha swallowed against the lump in her throat. "We were early. We managed to get inside and managed to tend to a few of the injured."

Mrs. Slater gave her a sweet smile. "Lovely. Any casualties?"

Martha started slightly at her careless tone. "No they were lucky. Just some minor burns and a concussion. You'll have to ask Bryan and Len, they were also treating patients."

"Oh but we have," Mrs. Slater continued so gently that it sent a shiver down Martha's spine. "Unfortunately it seems they were ushered out of the building before even examining anyone. But you were a bit more tenacious, weren't you, dear?"

Something in Martha's mind clicked. She was being manipulated, plain and simple. She frowned slightly. She remembered the Doctor and his pleading eyes. She thought of Mickey's open honesty and Pete's weary pleas to let it go. _Oh what the heck… offence is the best defence_. "Yes, I saw people in need and I helped. I splinted a broken arm and treated some burns. Then I was ushered out, too," she said with a slightly raised voice. "Mrs. Slater, can you tell me what this is all about?"

Mrs. Slater smiled and got up. She strolled to the window, speaking with her back turned. "Of course, of course. Well, Martha, you're a smart young woman, and I'm sure you love your job."

Martha remained silent.

"We've been contacted by the government. Something is not right at Torchwood, and they'd like to know what's going on there. Did you know they had three such accidents in the past weeks alone? Think of the danger to their employees!" Mrs. Slater turned around with a very convincing look of utter concern on her face. "The president's invested a lot of money in Torchwood, and she fears it's being misused. No casualties as of yet, but the next time…" She looked positively scandalised and paused for dramatic effect.

Martha remembered to act the part this time. The president, indeed. "That's horrible!" she exclaimed with what she thought was the perfect balance between shock and disapproval. "But… what has it got to do with us? With Greenway, I mean. We're just a medical ward."

"Oh, but you see," Mrs. Slater said knowingly, "the government has their eyes and ears in key places of public life! With the Cybermen threat and the world still in chaos, it's vital to keep watch, to keep the citizens safe!" Something in her voice made Martha doubt very much that Mrs. Slater was talking about the government. It seemed more like she was defending herself. "So they heard about the… incident, and wondered if we could shed some light on it, you know?"

Martha composed herself and put on a serious, "law-abiding citizen"-face. "Of course," she nodded seriously. "What can I do to help?"

"Oh, you're a darling," cried Mrs. Slater, enraptured. "I told them we had only the very best on staff. You know, they actually have someone in the building already, so why don't you talk to them right now?"

Before Martha could protest, she pressed a button on a little intercom device on her desk. "You can come in now," she said sweetly. Martha felt her heartbeat quicken. This did not sound good.

x

Over the course of the next two hours, Martha was grilled by two rather unfriendly men, supposedly government agents. She felt like she was at a police interrogation. They looked like something out of a movie – they were wearing dark suits, earpieces (she shuddered at the recollection of everyone wearing earpieces like that, and thought it extremely poor taste) and strange tech devices on their wrists that they kept checking constantly. They were completely cold and sterile. She tried to be friendly and smiled at them to begin with, but any charm she might possess went completely out the window with these guys. Mrs. Slater sat in the back of the office, watching them, the whole time, giving her the creeps. She cursed herself for ever having considered that woman harmless.

The story she told them over and over was an edited, short version of the truth. She told them of the argument she'd had with Pete, since she thought it would help her credibility if she didn't sound like she was suddenly on the side of Torchwood. However, in her mind, she was fighting a constant battle with herself. _Why would they think she was somehow shielding Torchwood? Because she was. That was exactly what she was doing._ She never breathed a word about the Doctor and completely left out her connection to Mickey. She had merely been doing her job, she insisted. How the hell would they know that the man she'd examined might or might not have had two hearts? But the weight of withholding information, even if she kept thinking she was imagining things anyway, was pressing down on her.

Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer, they finally reached the end of the interview. She had begun to wonder whether they had mind probes or lie detectors or something, and whether she shouldn't just give up. They'd pestered her down to giving descriptions of the lab and the people there, to which Martha honestly had to answer that she couldn't. She'd been so distracted by the Doctor and the argument with Mickey that she hadn't exactly memorised the floor plan. Whenever she got too worked up, she tried to play it off as pride in her work as a medic, and she thought she kind of got away with that. She didn't want them to think that she was suspecting anything or planning to do anything about it.

Hang on, was she? _Oh God,_ she thought, mentally resigning herself to being, well, herself. Of course she was gonna do something about it.

When they were finally done, the two men left as quietly as they had entered, merely giving a curt nod to Mrs. Slater. Martha rallied all of her acting skills and turned once more to her employer, giving her the biggest doe-eyes she could.

"Mrs. Slater, did I do okay?" _Okay, Martha, don't lay it on too thick now…_ "Thing is, I just want do my job… I'm not gonna get fired over this, am I? My mum would kill me if I lost my job." The family card should help. It helped her acting that the part about her mother was absolutely true. Let this woman think she cared about that.

"Now now, Martha, there's no need to worry," the woman smiled at her benignly. "You did really well, and I know they can be a bit intimidating at times." _At times? How the hell would you know that?_

"But everything is all right now. You did your civic duty, and I think your mother would be proud." She straightened some papers on her desk. "I'll ensure that your new ID card will be with Henry first thing tomorrow morning," she said. "And maybe, if things go well, we might even have a little promotion waiting for you," she winked at Martha in her best girlfriend-conspiracy manner. "How's that?"

Martha forced herself to smile broadly. "That sounds great, Mrs. Slater, thank you!"

"Tell you what, this has been tiring. You take the rest of the day off, and treat yourself, all right?"

"I'm not gonna say no to that," Martha laughed, even as her dread grew. Any other day, this might have been a treat. Now, all it told her was that things were definitely not back to normal. _Suspended, pending further developments_ , she thought darkly.

They shook hands and Martha kept an innocent smile plastered to her face all the way home. She unlocked the door and immediately sped up to her room. There, she fell on the bed and let out a painful sob.


	9. Meet the Parents

**Chapter 9 – Meet the Parents**

Martha had lain on her bed for what felt like hours, staring at the ceiling, debating what she should do. Now she sat, staring at her phone. That was as far as she'd gotten; she was nowhere near a solution.

 _You could just ignore it all. You've done your civic duty – perhaps with a few omissions, but hey, nobody's memory is perfect. No one would ever know. Enjoy the day, go back to work tomorrow, get your new ID card and your promotion and live a happy, quiet life. Forget about aliens, Cybermen, and adorable cowards._

 _Yeah but who says they're gonna keep their promises? Who says you'll get that ID card again? Who says they won't take that, and your job, and your license, anything, and lock you up for security reasons? Haven't you seen too much already? Oh God, Mickey told you way too much. You should never have agreed to see him again. But… he was nice, and honest… and somehow made your life feel more exciting than it was before. And wasn't it good what they did? Fighting the good fight every day?_

She continued to stare at her phone. Even if she didn't want to be involved with Torchwood, she still had to warn him. But how? Never before was she so aware of the technology around her. Her phone could be tapped. Her laptop could be under surveillance. She knew if she left the flat and went to the Torchwood office, she could be watched. She wrecked her brain for any kind of secret code she could use that he'd understand; but they had only gone out once – hardly enough for a secret language.

 _Okay, STOP. Stop spiralling into this, you're not an underground rebel or a fricking terrorist._ Finally, with a big sigh, she made her decision. She wasn't an agent, she wasn't working for any secret institutes, she had barely anything to hide. She dialled and nearly held her breath as she waited.

"Wow, you really can't get enough of me," came Mickey's voice.

Martha relaxed and smiled. "Yeah, you made quite the impression," she said. Okay, now concentrate. "Listen, I was wondering..." she began trailing circles on her bedsheet with her finger. "There's this bar I know around the corner from Southwark tube station… they have live music tonight, and dancing…"

"Dancing, huh?"

"Yeah, well, I was wondering if you'd like to go? I have something to celebrate."

"Oh? Like what?"

Her breath hitched a little but she went on bravely. "Oh, you know, I was called in to see the boss this morning, _completely out of the blue_ ," she wildly overemphasized the words and hoped he'd catch on. "And wouldn't you believe it, I might be up for a promotion!"

Mickey hesitated now. "Oh, well, that's great," he said, but she could tell he knew something was up.

"Yeah it's really cool, I might be getting a new _security clearance_ _and everything_ ," she prattled on happily, still emphasizing pointedly.

"Oh wow," Mickey said, "that really does call for celebrations. Listen, I've got to go, but I'll meet you on the tube there, kay?"

"I'll catch the 5:35," she managed, now smiling despite her worries.

"See you then," he said and quickly hung up. Martha whispered a relieved _thank you_ , sure that he'd understood.

X

Martha stood in the tube, holding on to a pole with one hand, with the other fussing with her outfit. At every stop, she glanced around, hoping to see Mickey. After a while, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Under the guise of shifting out of the way of somebody leaving the carriage, she turned around to look at the other passengers. Out of the corner of her eye, she finally spotted her. A young woman with dark hair and glasses, reading a newspaper, was sitting a short space away from her. After glancing over a few times, Martha was sure she was doing anything but reading the newspaper. She thought she saw something like an earpiece poking out from the woman's hair. _Okay, Martha, stay cool, no need to get paranoid._

Three stops on, Mickey finally entered the carriage. He spotted her and meant to move towards her, but she pointedly looked at something else, and imperceptively shook her head. He turned immediately and sat down, taking out his headphones, completely ignoring her. _Oh well done,_ Martha thought. _You've got experience with this sort of thing._ The thought thrilled her and she felt a warm, giddy feeling in her chest. This was exciting. And now that she was no longer alone in the carriage she was feeling miles better. She felt like a proper underground rebel or something and smiled to herself.

Martha left the carriage a station before Southwark, with Mickey quickly following. The lady with the newspaper didn't move, but as Martha watched the train disappear, she thought she saw her touching her ear briefly. She turned and spotted Mickey walking up the stairs, still completely ignoring her. She wove through the crowds to follow. On the platform above, she looked around a bit and finally discovered him at a newsagent, casually flicking through the magazines. She didn't recognize him at first, as he'd pulled up his hood. She sauntered over to the postcard rack and looked through the souvenirs.

"Did she follow you?" Mickey asked after a minute.

"No," Martha said quietly.

"Good call on leaving at a different station; she'll probably inform someone where we are though. Come on," he murmured and left.

Martha waited as long as she dared before leaving, stalking after the figure in the dark green hoodie. She noticed that a lot of teens around them were dressed similarly, so Mickey was definitely harder to spot. She briefly glanced at her own casual clothes and wondered whether she should have brought a cap or something. Outside of the station, she immediately lost sight of him. She cursed her inexperience. _Okay, behave normal._ She zipped up her leather jacket and watched the sky. It was overcast, threatening to rain. She shivered a little and walked slowly down the road from the station, hoping he was waiting somewhere.

Suddenly, something hissed in a nearby alleyway. She jumped like crazy, and immediately felt like a complete fool when she spotted Mickey, grinning from behind some rubbish bins. She looked around and darted into the alley, following him around a corner to beneath a row of shabby back doors and balconies.

"Jesus, girl, we gotta work on your undercover skills!" He teased.

She slapped him on the shoulder. "Oi! First time as a secret agent, okay?" They both laughed and Mickey gave her a quick hug.

"Hey, no worries, I think we're good for now. But kudos for spotting that lady in the first place."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I don't even know why we're doing this though," she rubbed her hands together for warmth. "It's not like I've done anything wrong, I mean…"

Mickey looked at her seriously. "Well, you obviously must have some reason to worry… but hey, why don't we get a drink and you can tell me all about it? I know a place."

They made their way down the alley and around a few corners to a small pub. Martha needed a moment for her eyes to adjust to the smoky den. The music was loud and they found a spot hidden away in a corner by some slot machines that still afforded a good view of the door. It was pretty dark, and only several neon signs and a dim light at the bar illuminated the room. They sipped on their beers and Martha instantly launched into the story of Mrs. Slater and the weird interrogation. She left out no detail, nor any opportunity to emphasize that she thought that something was up the entire time.

When she was done, Mickey gave her a lopsided smile. "You know, you seem to be far too excited about all of this."

"I… sorry, it's just, yeah, I guess it's kind of exciting. I mean, I know it's dangerous, but…" She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Don't you think it's at least a little bit thrilling…?"

He gave in and sighed. "Yeah, I guess. It's just… I also never forget that it's often life or death, you know? Not so funny then…" She detected that sadness again, and wondered what he meant. The song changed to something fun and fast paced, and Mickey suddenly grinned, shaking off the sombre mood. "Hey, you promised me dancing, remember?"

"Right you are mister," she grinned and drained her glass before being dragged to the dancefloor. It was a crammed affair, with many people suddenly bouncing around them, shouting along to the song. She bumped into people a few times, and at first tried to move out of the way, but then saw Mickey laugh, and she laughed too, and she let it go, just closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the freedom, shoving and all.

They danced for a few songs, and Martha was having the time of her life. She couldn't remember when she'd last been out like this. Her brother sometimes went out with his friends, but she'd felt out of place with them, being older and having a strenuous job that cost her almost all her energy every day. In the past months, ever since the Cybermen incident, the entire city felt like it was constantly afraid and paranoid; her mother sat at home, glued to the TV, basically waiting for something to happen again. The media portrayed life in Britain as a gloomy, private affair at the moment. A sombre atmosphere of mourning and responsibility had settled on the people.

Except that wasn't entirely true. At least not for the people here in this bar. This was real life, not the weird façade she saw every day. Here, Martha glimpsed something that went on behind the screens, the newscasts, the speeches. Here, people simply celebrated that they were alive, had emotions, and could be free. She revelled in it, soaked it up, and beamed at Mickey.

The music changed again after a while, to a quieter, grungy mood. People around them put their arms around each other and started swaying to the slow humming of the bass. Mickey cocked an eyebrow and came closer. Martha gingerly placed her arms on his shoulders, and felt him slowly snaking his arms around her waist. He seemed to be just as careful as she was, not sure whether this was okay. She had to force herself to look up, smiling slightly. Her heart was hammering in her chest – just from the dancing, she told herself.

In all the madness of this day, she found that what she liked most about him was the quietness. He was honest and calm, and pretty grounded despite all of these weird things happening. He moved his head slightly to the side of hers and murmured, "you remind me of someone. Someone I knew once."

His voice was nearly drowned out by the music, but she felt his breath on her ear. "Who?"

He hesitated a moment. "She was just like you are now; bouncy and excited… ready for the unknown."

Martha's heart sank a little. "Old flame?" she asked carefully.

Micky smiled. "Yeah, you could say that. It seems a long time ago now."

 _Okay, that's something._ "Was she also, you know, working with you?"

She felt his chest move as he let out a brief chuckle. "Not really. But she helped defeat the Cybermen."

Martha felt her heart sink more and more. She couldn't really compete with that. "Oh."

Mickey moved back a little to look at her again. "She's gone now, though. She… things happened. I don't know where she is, or if she's even still alive."

Martha was quiet and searched his eyes. He was more serious than she'd seen him before.

"She also thought it was great, and brilliant, and exciting. _A better way to live your life_ , she said. But now she's gone. And… I don't want anything like that happening to someone else."

"I'll be fine," Martha mumbled quickly, looking away, trying to digest his words.

"I'm not sure dragging you into this was such a good idea, Martha."

She tried to smile. "Hey, I called _you_ today, remember?"

"I guess so," he smiled back.

The continued swaying a bit more before the music picked up again and they made their way back through the throngs of people to their seats. Martha excused herself to go to the ladies', and Mickey ordered another drink.

After a few minutes in the bathroom, Martha was standing at the mirror, fussing with her make-up and hair. Another woman entered and went to one of the stalls. As she glanced into the mirror, Martha got a glimpse of her face and froze. She could have sworn it was the woman from the train. _Okay, paranoid? Or are they really that persistent? And who are they?_

She quickly dried her hands, but tried to not rush so as to alarm the woman. She practically held her breath as she left the bathroom. As she rounded the corner from the ladies', she nearly jumped out of her skin when she ran straight into Mickey.

"Shh, quiet, back door," he muttered and pressed her jacket into her hands, pushing her back around the other corner with the emergency exit sign. She complied and they quickly scrambled outside, into the arms of one of the bouncers, who was leaning against the wall, smoking. Mickey, quickly plastering a sheepish grin on his face, gestured back towards the door. "Ex-girlfriend just showed up… you never saw us, mate," he winked and stepped closer to the guy, pushing something into his hands. The guard pulled an indulgent grin and pocketed the money. "Yeah yeah, Casanova, run along," he said in a gruff voice. Mickey grabbed Martha's hand and they ran off.

After a few blocks, Martha stopped him. She let go of his hand to steady herself against a wall and gulped breaths of air. "Oh God, you nearly gave me a heart attack back there!"

"Sorry," Mickey said whilst quickly checking for pursuers. But the surrounding streets were empty. "A guy I've seen before came into the bar, and he's not good news."

"Yeah, I was gonna tell you; the lady with the newspaper was on the loo. Well, without the newspaper this time," she added quietly and Mickey grinned. "What are we gonna do now?"

Mickey glanced at his watch. "I say we bolt. No need to press our luck. Tube station should be around here somewhere."

He grabbed her hand again and off they went. Martha was a bit sad that the evening had been cut short again like this. "So who was the guy?" she asked casually.

"I don't know but he gives me the creeps," Mickey said darkly. "He's been watching the office. We call him our stalker."

"Damn, I wish I had gotten a look. Might have been one of the guys interrogating me."

He glanced back. "Yeah, might be, from your description."

"Mickey," she began, and pulled him to a stop again. "What do these guys actually want with us… with me? They said they worked for the government?"

Mickey laughed. "They don't. We're the ones working for the government. At least unofficially. But there's people even in the inner circles that would like to change that, from what Pete says."

Martha frowned at that piece of news. "But I haven't done anything, and I haven't seen anything… why would they interrogate me in the first place? It's not like I could really help them, is it?"

Mickey turned and searched her eyes. "You've been inside Torchwood, that means you've seen more than enough. More than any of them. Trust me, they'll take anything they can get."

"But I don't even remember anything about the lab, it's not like I could lead anyone through it or something."

Mickey's lip curled up in a smile. "You didn't tell them about the Doctor. Why?"

Martha thought for a moment, considering the question. "I dunno, it just seemed like something better kept quiet, that's all."

"What did?"

Her frown increased. "I don't know, _he_ did?! Like the fact that he may or may not have two hearts, for starters?"

Mickey grinned at her exasperated look. "See, you may not be a secret agent, but you instinctively kept quiet about the most important bit of knowledge they could have gotten from you. That's actually quite impressive, that."

He turned away and walked on. Martha stared at his back, slightly stunned. After a second, she scrambled after him quickly, grabbing his hand again. "So wait, you're saying that… he _actually_ _has two hearts_?"

Mickey just smiled. "Sorry, that's classified," he said innocently. "Come on."

Martha clicked her tongue and shook her head with a laugh as they made their way to the station.

X

On the tube ride, they kept a lookout for any followers, but the carriage was nearly empty at this point. Martha managed to pester Mickey long enough for him to finally give in and to tell her what happened when the Cybermen threat began. Once again, she got the impression he was leaving out important facts and figures, editing the story for her benefit. Perhaps, as long as she wasn't safe, he wouldn't divulge any more information than necessary. Martha also noticed that, now that she knew about the mystery woman he'd mentioned earlier, she recognized the points in the story where he left her out. Martha's imagination conjured her like an image made from negative space, defined by the story around her. She seemed important, whoever she was, and Martha couldn't help but be a little jealous.

At a certain point, Mickey refused to say anything more, claiming he really couldn't risk it, no matter how tempting it was to brag to her. Martha smiled and let it go for now. Instead, she told him more about her own life and family, and no matter how insignificant it all seemed in comparison, he was an attentive listener.

They left the tube, and once again Mickey walked her home. When they reached her block of terraced houses, she turned the corner only to immediately dart back and flatten herself to the wall.

"What's wrong?" he asked and leaned around the corner to get a look.

"There are people at my house," she whispered, and glanced around again. Thankfully, their corner was steeped in darkness, too far from the nearest street light. She saw two men casually leaning at a wall somewhere, as casual as only people on a specific assignment could be. The woman with the newspaper from earlier was just going up to her house, ringing the doorbell. After a few moments, Martha saw her mother answer the door. The woman flashed an identification card of some sorts and her mother seemed to immediately get flustered and led her inside.

"It's that woman again," she brought out under her breath, leaning back against the wall. "Oh God, I can't go home now, she's probably looking for me," she sighed, looking up and feeling worry creeping into her chest. This was probably what Mickey had meant earlier – it was all fun and games for a while, but now they were with her family. And she had nowhere else to go. She briefly thought about her dad, who lived in another part of town, but if they had gotten to her mum they would just as easily check out his place.

She caught Mickey looking at her intently. "What?" she asked.

"We can hang out… at my place," he finally said. "They're not gonna like it, but it's the only thing I can think of for now, while we figure out what to do with you."

Martha felt an inward stab of fear. " _What to do with me_?" she whispered. She wasn't sure whether she was ready to meet the parents yet. But she figured he was probably right. "Who are _They_ ," she continued when he didn't answer and turned to leave. "Your parents?"

"You'll see," he sighed, and grabbed her hand again as they quickly snuck back to the tube station. Martha silently prayed they hadn't been noticed, and stayed in the shadows as much as she could.

X

After another short ride, Mickey led her out of another station, and through several empty streets. They were definitely in the posh part of town now, and she glanced in wonder at the large villas and parks they passed on their way. She shot him a few looks, but he was silent for now and refused to elaborate on where they were going. It had begun to rain, and Martha tried to pull her jacket over her head a little. However, that didn't keep her from being completely soaked by the time they reached their destination. Instead of using the front gate, which looked to be large and secured by alarm, he went round the back and pulled out a key to let them in by a side door.

"Servant entrance?" she whispered, trying to smile.

"Sort of," he said, but remained stony-faced. She could tell he was really worried now. She frowned and hoped that maybe his rich family wasn't at home or something. She didn't feel like she'd make a good impression on anyone tonight.

They stepped inside a dim hallway. Martha shook out her jacket a little and wiped the rain off her face. She looked around. The walls were panelled with mahogany, and the floor was fine marble. It smelled warm, and dusty and of wood and heavy curtains, as she'd imagined a proper posh villa should. "Wow," she exclaimed and Mickey only gave her a rueful smile. "What? First time in a mansion. Shut up," she said quietly and he managed a smile.

They went down the dark hallway to what looked to be a large sitting room. Light spilled out into the hallway and she could hear a TV running. Mickey pulled open one of the double doors and stepped in, Martha peeking past him. Large bookcases lined the walls, and there were two expensive-looking designer sofas in the middle, turned towards a large TV. Despite the rich appearance, the room was completely messy. Books were scattered everywhere, and next to the TV, there was a large pile of electronic gizmos. It looked like someone had sat there, tinkering with it.

On the sofa, a blonde woman turned around to look at them. She had a cup of tea in her hand and was wearing a pink dressing gown.

"Oh, there you are, how was your date then?" She switched off the TV.

"Actually," Mickey started, and Martha stepped out of the shadows next to him, fiddling with her jacket, and feeling thoroughly out of place.

"Hi," she said meekly.

The woman's eyes went wide. She hesitated for a moment, then put down her tea and got up, tying her dressing gown. "Well, come in, come in, oh dear you're all soaked! I'll get you some towels," she rattled on, ushering them into the room. Martha was completely taken off guard by her thick Cockney accent and somewhat frilly appearance. The woman came forward to shake her hand. "Jackie Tyler, nice to meet you," she said and smiled warmly. Her makeup was a little bit overdone and her hair was wrapped in a messy bun, yet she didn't seem at all put out by Martha seeing her like this. Suddenly, Martha didn't feel so worried about her appearance anymore.

"Martha Jones, uh, nice to meet you Mrs. Tyler," she stammered, and the woman waved at her. "Just Jackie will do, love," she said and bustled out of the door. Before she left, she shot Mickey a look with raised eyebrows. Mickey rolled his eyes and took of his own wet jacket and threw it carelessly over a very expensive looking armchair. He flopped on the couch and looked at her, still standing like a frightened kitten in the middle of the room, staring around.

"Hey, come on, make yourself comfortable," he said. "Don't worry, you're not gonna break anything, just feel right at home. Cup of tea?" He leaned over and pointed at the prepared kettle that was standing between a few stacks of folders on a side-table.

"No thanks, I'm good," she said. She gingerly shrugged out of her jacket and placed it on top of his, careful not to get any water on the chair. She sat down on the sofa, glancing once more to the rich furniture. "You didn't tell me your folk were rich," she observed flatly, with a nervous titter. Somehow she'd pictured him as a… well, as someone more like herself.

"Yeah… they're not really _my folk_ ," he began, just as Pete Tyler strode through the door at the other end of the room. He stopped and stared at Martha, then at Mickey. He looked, for lack of a better word, pissed.

Martha got up quickly. "You said you were taking me to your place," she accused with a slightly higher voice than she'd hoped. All of a sudden, she felt trapped. Well, at least this explained the expensive furniture. _Jackie Tyler, of course,_ it suddenly hit her. She thought the woman looked familiar, but she'd been a bit too overwhelmed to notice.

Mickey got up, too. "I did! This is where I live," he said, gesturing around the room.

Pete glanced at him, then at Martha again. "Miss Jones, how nice to see you again," he managed civilly, shooting Mickey a look. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" He grabbed Mickey's arm, and before he could protest, dragged him out of the room.

Martha sat back down, feeling miserable. Through the partially open door she could hear an argument arising between Mickey and Pete. Fragments drifted to her ears, as Mickey rose up to defend himself.

"… didn't say your date was _her_ …"

"… don't have to explain myself to you…"

"… dangerous, what if she…"

"…we were followed… didn't know where else…"

"…security risk… _reckless_ …"

Martha felt like a hand was slowly squeezing her heart, and she couldn't breathe. She quickly got up, grabbed her jacket and tip-toed out of the room the way they had entered. She didn't know where else to go for now, but anywhere was better than intruding here. The voices fell away as she slipped out of the door and down the hallway.

Suddenly, as she looked ahead, she saw a dark figure standing in the corridor, leaning against a wall. The skinny form was lit from the back by the light spilling out from the main hall, and his spiky hair stood up in all directions. He had his hands in his pocket, leaning casually, mustering her silently. She'd have recognized him anywhere. A shiver ran down her spine.

"It's you," she whispered. The man lowered his face, then turned around to leave as silently as he had come. Martha gathered all the courage she had left and quickly went after him. She turned a corner, but he was gone. Vanished into thin air. She looked around for that side door again, but the dark corridors made it impossible to really find her way. She finally decided to follow the light, and reached the main hall. A large staircase ran upwards, and the overly posh and over-the-top double doors were the only exit she could see as yet. Just when she decided to make a run for it, she heard someone on the landing above.

"Oh! Where are you going? I got you a towel," Jackie cried, and rushed down the stairs.

Martha jumped and stood still. "I… was just looking for the loo?" she tried.

Jackie came up to her and wrapped her in a large, fluffy towel, draping it securely around her shoulders. She held her by the arms for a moment and gave her a commiserating, gentle look. "Oh sweetheart, if you want to leave, you better not use the front door. It's watched, you see. We usually avoid it altogether these days," she explained matter-of-factly. Martha was once again stumped. She did not know what to make of this woman.

"Are they shouting at each other?" Jackie asked.

Martha swallowed and nodded slightly.

"Oh, stupid blokes! You just leave them fight it out and come with me. What you need is a hot drink with a little something; it'll fix you right up." She ushered Martha towards another corridor, without protest. She felt she was simply too tired, and a hot drink did sound nice.

She was led into a large, but comfy, kitchen and sat down on a bar stool around a centre isle. As Jackie began bustling with the tea, she dried herself off as best she could, listening to her hostess' endless chattering about the weather, the government (in general), housekeeping and how silly men with their bloody testosterone were. Martha slowly but surely felt the anxiety fall off her. She realized that she felt about Jackie much as she had done about Mickey the night before. She knew almost nothing about her, yet she just _felt right_ ; like whatever was going on here, a woman so weird yet so kind just couldn't be the bad guy in the story.

When Jackie finally planted a hot steaming mug of tea (and whatever else was in there) in front of her, Martha smiled at her, genuinely looking at her face for the first time. "Thank you," she said earnestly and Jackie smiled back. They both sipped their tea for a moment in silence, before Martha said, "I'm sorry I tried to make a run for it. It's just all a bit much, I think…"

"Oh don't worry sweetheart. It's a bit overwhelming. Trust me, I know how you feel! I'm just glad to have another girl in the house for once; it gets a bit much being locked up with just the guys," she chuckled.

A thousand questions raced through Martha's head, but she didn't dare ask a single one. She was too afraid of putting her foot in it before Mickey even came looking for her. Compared to Pete Tyler, his wife at least liked her and didn't seem to mind her presence. But there was one thing she wanted to clear up.

"So you're Mickey's…?" she began slowly.

Jackie waved a hand. "Oh, nothing, he's just a friend of the family. Known him all his life, you know, with him being… uh, my neighbour and y'know…" Jackie's eyes became unfocussed for a moment, and Martha saw it again; the negative space surrounding the mystery girl.

"He helped create Torchwood – well, this one anyway – and had nowhere to go," Jackie continued. "His gran doesn't have any space and we have plenty, so…" She sipped on her tea, bringing her eyes back to focus on Martha again.

"Yes, I see, sorry, didn't mean to pry," Martha stammered slightly and felt she needed to clarify things. "It's just… he never said where we were going, just… well, I half expected to meet the in-laws, you know?"

Jackie cocked an eyebrow and a grin formed on her face. "In-laws, eh? You must really like him…"

" _NO_ , that's not what I meant," Martha sputtered even more, nearly spilling her tea. "I just, I mean, it's just an expression," she floundered, increasingly mortified by Jackie's knowing smirk.

Finally, she took another swig of the tea, if only to keep her stupid mouth from producing even more nonsense. But Jackie playfully swatted her arm. "Oi, I'm only teasing," she giggled. "I haven't had a good laugh for weeks. About time someone with a little spirit showed up. Will do us a world of good, us gloomy lot."

Martha smiled gratefully and Jackie winked at her again.


	10. Part of the Family

**Chapter 10 – Part of the Family**

Mickey had finally managed to convince Pete that bringing Martha to the mansion wouldn't immediately spell their doom. Not that it had been easy; the man had been on edge ever since they'd lost Rose, and was incredibly worried about the amount of surveillance they suddenly found themselves under.

Mickey seized the opportunity. "You see, having a new member on the team might actually help us. Without Martha, we never would have known about Mrs. Slater and to which lengths they will go now."

Pete raised an eyebrow. "She might just be a middle man – it's not like we've suddenly stumbled on the head of the organization behind this by accident."

"We don't know that! She might be the one who's behind the cameras," Mickey offered diplomatically.

"All right, all right," Pete grumbled. "We do need more people, that's true. And it's hard to find someone you can… kind of… trust. I still don't say this is a safe bet though."

Mickey grinned and grabbed his arm briefly in thanks. "Nothing is, Pete, but we can start somewhere, right?"

"You sure you'd be doing all this if you didn't wanna date her?"

"Like I said, boss; gotta start somewhere," Mickey grinned sheepishly.

They walked back into the sitting room to find it empty, Martha's jacket gone. "Damn," Mickey exclaimed, "where'd she go?"

"I hope she's not snooping around," Pete said darkly and Mickey shot him an exasperated glance.

They didn't have to look far for her though. Laughter and the clinking of cups could be heard from the direction of the kitchen. Ever since Pete had dismissed the entire staff of the house for security reasons (with the express disapproval of Jackie), the mansion had been a rather gloomy, quiet place. It was simply too big for them, and with the general mood being on the depressing side, it was hard to make the place feel comfortable at all. It was good to hear Martha's laugh ring through the hallways.

"I swear to God that's how it happened," Jackie's voice rang out from the kitchen, and the two women giggled loudly.

Mickey stepped in and immediately went to Martha's side, smiling at her. "Has she been regaling you with tales from my childhood?"

"Only a little," she smiled. He saw her face fall a little as Pete came in.

"Hey, don't worry, I've convinced him you're not a spy or a security risk, so relax. You better don't turn out to be a spy though, or he'll never let me forget it," he added.

Martha looked questioningly at Pete, who finally sighed. "Look," he said, his hand running over his neck, looking uncomfortable. "Why don't we start over? I'm Pete, nice to meet you," he held out his hand. Martha shook it. "I'm Martha, nice to meet you, Pete." Mickey grinned and slapped them both on the back. "That's better," he said. Then he turned to get himself a cup of tea. He could tell Martha was still freaked out a little, but he knew from experience that the whole 'Pete Tyler and a giant mansion' thing was something you got used to after a while.

Pete grabbed some tea as well and leaned against the counter, mustering Martha. "Well then, Martha… Mickey tells me you had a run in with our special friends. Could you tell me exactly what happened at your… interview?"

Martha hesitated and quickly looked at Mickey. She sat up a bit straighter and looked Pete in the eyes. "Actually, before I do that I'd like to know what this is all about. Really," she added when he tried to wave her off. "I've told my story to Mickey, and he seemed to think it was legitimately dangerous. I have people at my mother's house right now, doing God knows what, and truthfully, I feel a little outnumbered here…" she trailed off and glanced at Jackie for support. "I'd just like to know what I'm getting into, that's all."

Pete huffed and looked away, shaking his head. But Jackie grabbed Martha's hand. "Oh come on, let her ask what she wants to know," she said. "She's here now, we might as well."

Pete rolled his eyes. "Oh go on then… regardless of what you know or don't know, I have a feeling you're stuck with us now anyway," he glanced at Mickey, who quickly busied himself with his tea. "So yeah, fire away."

Martha took a deep breath. "Okay, so first of all, how official are you? _Torchwood_ , I mean. You _are_ a government thing, aren't you?"

"Yes we are, or at least we are now," Pete sighed. "Torchwood has existed for a while, but was involved in some…" his eyes flickered to Mickey, "questionable projects. After there was… an incident, we uncovered their involvement and the People's Republic under Harriet Jones took over running the institute. We all joined the team when it started over, but it's much smaller now than it used to be. We fight what's left of the Cybermen, and are basically the only central body on this planet that deals with…" his eyes flickered up to Mickey again, as if to check how much he'd told her. "…alien incidents. Thankfully we haven't had many of those. It's been mainly hacking the Cybermen defences, that sort of thing."

"Okay," Martha said slowly, playing with her teacup. "So what about Mr. Two Hearts, is he an... alien then?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself," Mickey said quietly as he noticed the Doctor standing by the door. He wore his typically impassive face, a mask to hide his misery behind. He'd been working frantically for weeks, hardly sleeping or eating, worrying nearly to death. He looked a shell of the man he used to be. Despite all the bickering between them, Mickey felt like he finally understood him a little.

Martha's head spun round and she stared at the Doctor.

"Hello again," he said. "I'm the Doctor."

"M-Martha Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Martha."

"So… Are you an alien?" she asked.

"Yep," he said, his face still impassive, popping out the 'p', and rocking slightly back and forth on his trainers. "That all right?"

"Y-yes!" she said quickly, grabbing hold of her cup again to fiddle with it. "It's just… first time meeting an alien, that's all," she finished quietly.

Mickey couldn't take it any longer. "Oh can we stop with the dramatics already, Doctor! Can't you just say hello like a normal person without being _extra_ enigmatic for once?"

A small smile stole on his face. "Naaah, where would be the fun in that?" He pushed himself off the wall with his shoulder and sauntered over to put the kettle on again. "It's what people expect from alien encounters, isn't it? I mean, I'm not green, unfortunately, or have tentacles or antlers," he continued whilst preparing his cup, "but I can speak a different language if you want. Or do something weird, or impressive, like, I dunno, stand on my head? Is that impressive for a human?" Mickey saw a smile pull at Jackie's mouth.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Martha, as if waiting for approval, and she laughed in surprise. "But… but hang on," she cried, jumping off the bar stool. "Last time I saw you, you were injured! Your arm was broken and… your head," she said, walking around him in a circle, checking his forehead, gingerly touching his arm.

"Oh yeah," the Doctor said happily, as if he'd only just remembered. "Fast healer, that's something impressively alien, isn't it?" He held out his arm for inspection.

Pete smiled. "And thank God for that, seeing how much you like getting into trouble," he said.

"This is amazing!" Martha took a step back and mustered the Doctor from top to bottom. "There's not a scratch on you!"

"Weeell, it's still a bit sore," he waved her off and flexed his arm a little.

"Am I exonerated now, Miss Jones? Convinced I did not mistreat a patient?" Pete smiled at her, genuinely this time. The mood in the kitchen lightened considerably, Mickey noted with relief.

"I guess so," Martha said slowly. "And two hearts, huh?" The Doctor nodded and stirred his tea. "I can see why you wouldn't want him in a hospital then… they'd never let him leave!"

"Exactly."

"Thanks, by the way," the Doctor added, looking at her thoughtfully. "For not telling anyone."

"You're welcome," she said and sat back down. Mickey looked on her with some pride.

She turned to Pete. "So why did your lab explode?"

Pete shifted uneasily and shared a look with Jackie. Mickey felt that they weren't quite ready for a full disclosure yet. And while he had dropped hints about what happened to Rose, he didn't really feel like explaining her either. The pain of losing her was still fresh – even though he had long since resigned himself to the fact that her heart belonged to somebody else, he still was incredibly worried for her safety, and suffered with the Doctor and Jackie.

Mickey glanced at Martha, who was looking at all of them, waiting. He really liked her, perhaps more than he'd expected even when he'd asked for her number. He wanted her on board with them, but at the same time knew of the risks she was taking, more so than she did herself. Essentially he'd felt a bit desperate not to let her slip through his fingers – you never knew when the next invasion or attack might happen, and he wanted to make the most of his life. Dating someone inside Torchwood may be dangerous, but dating someone outside of it was basically impossible. It was either all or nothing with them, now.

Pete finally sighed. "It's a new machine we're working on, and something malfunctioned. _We_ ," he glanced pointedly at the Doctor, "will be more careful in the future."

"You always get so tetchy when I blow stuff up," the Doctor nagged quietly, and Pete rolled his eyes.

"I happen to like my staff healthy and not terrified for their lives, thanks," he said, a rueful smile on his face.

"Oh don't start again," Jackie moaned.

Martha looked at Mickey again and narrowed her eyes. "So you have the office, but… you all live together in this house… like some kind of… secret base?"

Mickey chuckled. "I guess you could say that, yeah."

The Doctor looked sideways at Pete. "I wanted to install a blanket fort, but _he said no_ ," he pouted.

"Every secret base needs a blanket fort," Martha agreed in a very serious tone.

"See? Even the newbie gets it!" The Doctor shook his head at Pete. Mickey, Jackie and Martha exchanged grins.

"You guys are the weirdest people I have ever met," Martha laughed.

"Good weird or bad weird," Mickey asked.

"Haven't decided yet," she grinned. "But… what is it for? That machine you built? What's it supposed to do? Is it for the Cybermen?" Martha asked, leaning forward.

Pete shared another look with everyone. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you," he said with finality.

Martha hesitated, but when she caught Mickey's eyes, she nodded and let it go. "Well, I better fulfil my part of the bargain as well, then," she sighed. Once again she launched into the story of her interrogation, adding the events of the evening so far. Mickey noticed she was telling it a bit differently this time, as if she had sobered and wasn't finding it all so exciting any more. When she had finished, she looked at them all in turn.

Pete put down his mug and crossed his arms, mustering her again. "Sounds like you're more involved than you'd planned. Like I thought. Say, have you ever thought about a change in careers?"

Mickey grinned as Martha's eyebrows shot up. "Are… are you offering me a job?"

He shrugged. "Well, it seems to me you might soon be out of your old one; and to be honest, we could use another medic – if this one continues to blow up our labs."

The Doctor raised his hands in defence and pulled an innocent face.

She hooked some hair behind her ear and looked at her hands cradling the empty mug. "My mum, and my brother… will they be safe?"

Nobody spoke for a moment. Jackie put a hand over hers and gave her a sad look. "I don't think any of us are safe, love, from anyone. But we try to take care of each other, and that's what matters, eh?"

"I guess so," Martha said in a small voice.

Mickey went over to her again and looked into her eyes. "It's good that you're scared and you're worried. 'Cause this is dangerous, and like I said, excitement can make you reckless. Safer to be scared, sometimes. We've… all lost people, and it never gets any easier." He saw Jackie bow her head. "But if it's any consolation," he continued, placing a hand on Martha's shoulder, "I think the moment you stepped inside Torchwood, you became interesting to these people; and whatever you do, they'll try to get a hold of you either way. At least if you stick around, we can try to protect you."

Martha swallowed and nodded. "I know. I think…. I've known that since this morning. I'd much rather be here than with Mrs. Slater, that much I can tell you."

"High praise," Mickey grinned and Martha gave him a beautiful, genuine smile.

"Easy, tiger," the Doctor muttered behind him, grinning into his teacup. Mickey rolled his eyes.

"Well I think it would be lovely to have you with us," Jackie said decisively. "I could use a bit more girl power around here. Tell you what, why don't we all get take out and celebrate our newest team member," she beamed at Pete.

"If anyone knows how to turn a tense situation into a party, it's you, darling," Pete sighed indulgently and kissed her forehead. "Fine by me. It's been a long day," he shrugged off his jacket to hang it over a chair. "Doctor?"

The man in the pinstripes hesitated a moment. Mickey knew he was thinking about going back to his tinkering. Even though he had opened up to them considerably already, he still had a problem with just hanging out, not doing anything productive. A social life was certainly not on his list of priorities right now.

Jackie rolled her eyes at him. "Oh come on then, you skinny alien, I know for a fact you haven't eaten all day. It'll do you good! And you can take your tinkering to the sitting room with us, there's half a junk yard in there already anyway."

The Doctor bristled. "Oi, I resent that; I fixed up your TV, remember? You love _By the Light of the Asteroid_!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't fuss," Jackie smiled. "Just eat something, all right?"

Mickey smirked at Martha. "Their daily battle, mother hen versus restless alien. Come on, I'll show you the guest room," he said quietly and led the way out of the kitchen.

Maratha followed and asked quickly, "guest room – you sure it's okay for me to stay here?"

Mickey grinned. "Trust me, you've basically been voted into the family now." At her shocked look he added, "like I said, stuck with us. Is that a problem? Too much too soon?" he asked, suddenly worried that it was a bit much, from date, to job offer, to initiated into the Torchwood family, living quarters and all.

Martha narrowed her eyes and searched his face, like she was genuinely considering the question. "You know, I think under normal circumstances, I'd say it was… but this? No. I'm glad we made it here before those… stalkers got to us."

"Yeah," he smiled, and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I know just the room for you."

x

A bit later, Martha stood in the en-suite bathroom of a beautiful, large guest room upstairs, loosening her hairdo. The windows all opened on the garden behind the mansion, and even though it was dark, she guessed the view to be fantastic. She'd thrown her jacket on the bed, where Jackie had left a pile of pyjamas, extra blankets, towels and slippers. Martha got out of her soaked jeans and slipped on the pyjama pants and slippers, feeling miles better. Tiredness settled on her shoulders and she stifled a yawn. She ran her fingers through her hair again and made her way downstairs, back to the sitting room.

As before, it was brightly lit and warm, and Martha felt a lot more comfortable now than before. Mickey had explained a bit more about the Vitex corporation having being mostly a screen for Pete's spying on Lumic; and that Jackie and him both came from modest backgrounds and had been just as unused to this level of wealth as she. As she entered the living room, Martha spotted the Doctor, sitting beside the pile of electronic junk she'd seen earlier. His jacket and tie were off and his sleeves pushed up. His hair stood into all directions and he had a strange, metal device parked between his teeth, from where he'd occasionally remove it to bleep it at some of the equipment he was working on.

Jackie was sitting on a sofa, legs crossed underneath her, a large cardboard box of noodles on her lap, eating and happily chatting with Pete. Her husband was sitting on the floor, his back to the sofa where Jackie was sitting on, piles of papers scattered around him on the rug. Occasionally, he'd lean back his head and Jackie would drop a kiss on his lips before he went back to his papers.

Mickey was sitting on the opposite sofa, and when he heard her come in, he smiled. For a second, she hoped that being so casual and comfy was perhaps putting him off a little, but then mentally scoffed at herself. He'd asked for a sleepover, he'd get one. She walked over to sit next to him and got comfortable with her legs tucked up by her side. Mickey handed her a cardboard box and some chopsticks and, with a wink, swore that he'd saved her the best. Martha tucked in, suddenly noticing how hungry she was.

They continued to chat about everything and nothing – some of her life, some of Pete's, and occasionally, some of the Doctor's crazy stories. Martha soaked it all in and listened with rapt attention. These people went from talking about the weather to discussing weird alien technology; they were absolutely the strangest bunch she'd ever met. And yet, she felt with a pang of guilt and sadness, she felt more comfortable with them than she did with her own family these days.

There was one thing she did notice after a few stories. It seemed that Mickey, the Doctor and Jackie had experienced many adventures _together_ , whereas Pete came across as being a bit apart from them. He didn't share all of their inside jokes, and certain things even seemed to leave him just as confused as Martha, with whom he occasionally shared a strange look she did not understand. As before, the mysterious woman of Mickey's stories was ever present, an unmentioned non-entity, never named or explained, always there, but never acknowledged. At some points, she even flat out refused to believe them, like when they claimed that Mickey once blew up 10 Downing Street. They said it was "a long story", and left it at that, but Martha felt that there was something huge they were keeping from her again. She tried to accept this, telling herself that she'd only just met them. She understood – but she was no less curious.

x

After a while, Jackie and Pete excused themselves to go to bed. The Doctor was still happily tinkering away on the floor, showing no sign of weariness. Martha smiled a little to herself when she saw how Mickey tried to subtly get his attention – it seemed he might want some alone time with her, and the alien was completely oblivious to this. Martha was torn: it was hilarious watching Mickey almost give himself an aneurism the way he drilled his gaze into the Doctor's head, willing him to get the idea. But on the other hand, she kind of liked him sane, and decided that she wouldn't mind some alone time with him herself. She finally couldn't take it any longer and pushed herself off the couch.

"All right… it's been a long day, fellows," she said and yawned.

Mickey looked a little disappointed but quickly rallied and jumped up as well. "Yeah, it was… good night, Doctor."

The man remained undisturbed and, with his metal tool clammed between his teeth, just mumbled "g'night" in their general direction.

Martha and Mickey left the living room and Martha smirked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll, uh, just make sure you find your room," he said, running a hand up and down his neck.

"Gosh, yeah," Martha said in a mock-dumbfounded sound. "I think I've completely forgotten where it was! This place is so _big_!"

Mickey's eyes snapped to hers and he seemed to blush. She playfully elbowed him in the side and walked on towards the main hall and up the staircase. Mickey chuckled and followed her up to her room.

She stepped inside and lingered by the doorframe. "Thanks for everything," she said, smiling at Mickey.

"You're welcome. This went better than I expected," he grinned.

"Same here!"

He hesitated for a few more moments and seemed to debate with himself. "Well, uh, I better… good night then."

But there was one thing she wanted cleared up, for her own sanity's sake. "Mickey?"

He quickly turned back. "Yeah?" He sounded hopeful, which made Martha almost regret her next words.

"That… girl you mentioned earlier." His face fell a little. "There wasn't a story tonight that didn't have her in it." She didn't even try to make it sound like a question.

"No," he admitted quietly. Martha waited. She could see him turning the arguments over in his mind, whilst his eyes searched hers. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind. He looked around, then gestured to her room. "May I…?"

Martha's heart gave a little happy jolt. She moved out of the way and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the window and stared into the dark grounds below. "Jackie and Pete wouldn't like this. Full disclosure. Hell, I don't like it either. But maybe it's better if you just know. Then at least you'll know which topics to stay clear of and won't accidentally say the wrong things," he reasoned, it seemed mostly with himself.

Martha walked over and sat down cross-legged on the bed, grabbing hold of a pillow, once again just waiting. Finally, he sighed and turned back to her, and she could see pain in his eyes, and insecurity.

"Rose," he said. "Her name's Rose." He pulled up the chair that stood by the small desk and sat down to face Martha.

"Was she your girlfriend?" Martha asked quietly.

Mickey smiled sadly. "Once. When we were both still… normal." He sighed and leaned back, looking at the ceiling. "Then she met the Doctor."

Martha's eyes went wide. "So she and him…?"

"No… well, yes, but… I don't know." He sighed. "They were kind of together, I guess."

"But he's…" she gestured a little with her head, unsure how to put it.

"An alien?"

"Well, yeah…"Martha thought about it for a moment. The Doctor seemed a nice guy, and cute in a sort of geeky way. She hadn't really had a chance to get to know him, but she could see him as quite fun to be around. It's not like you could tell he was alien – _unless you had a stethoscope_ , she amended.

Mickey gave a heavy sigh. "Never stopped her, I guess."

"So what happened?"

Mickey took a deep breath. He leaned back forward, elbows on his legs, looking intently at Martha. "Okay, first of all, there is one thing we didn't tell you earlier. It's about that machine."

Martha felt her heart beat a little faster and shuffled closer. "You know how you didn't believe I'd blown up 10 Downing Street?"

Martha clicked her tongue impatiently. "Well, you can't have! The media can cover up a lot, but not everything. We would have seen it on the news, Mickey."

"Not on _your_ news, no," he said quietly and her smirk slowly turned into a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I _did_ fire that missile, only… not in this universe."

She stared at him, dumbfounded. This was not what she'd expected. Suddenly, he began to talk very quickly, explaining about parallel universes created by choices and chance and whatever else; about the void that separated them, and about how, with the right technology, or a glitch in the wrong one, it was possible to travel between these different versions of what she considered reality.

Martha realised her mouth had gone slack as she tried to take this in. She blinked at him. "So… you went to a parallel universe to blow up the President?!"

Mickey smiled. "Prime Minister, actually… but I think he was already dead at the time… anyway," he added quickly before Martha could react. "No, I didn't go to the parallel universe. I'm _from_ there."

"You're… from a parallel world. Another… _universe_ … besides this one."

"Yeah," he said, and paused a moment. "So is Jackie, by the way, and the Doctor… and Rose."

"Okay," Martha said slowly, putting things together. This explained a lot, actually. The odd looks Pete had given her, the disjointed stories, the slight mistakes she'd picked up from Jackie in particular, especially where recent events, politics, or technology were concerned.

"So how did you get to be… over here?"

"Well, the Doctor has this… space ship." Martha raised an eyebrow. "And we accidentally landed here. The ship, like, I don't know, skipped lanes or whatever, so instead of _our_ London, we came to this one by mistake. Shortly after that, the Cybermen thing happened. We helped… and I decided to stay."

Martha felt like with every sentence, her head was doing another twist, bringing up more and more questions she couldn't even begin asking fast enough. "So there's a parallel London? Did you have Cybermen, too? Is that why you all stayed?"

"No… the other London was fine. No Cybermen, not at that point anyway. And it was only me that stayed then." He looked at his hands, and his voice was wavering a bit as he tried to explain. "It was… my gran. She'd died over there, but here she's still alive. Only family I had. Also, the version of me in this universe had sacrificed himself during the fighting. So I thought, why not? I could take his place, continue the fight."

Martha stared at him. "What do you mean," she began slowly, " _version_ of you…?"

Mickey looked up at her with a worried frown. She felt like all the colour had drained from her face and had a sinking feeling in her stomach as the realisation of this set in. "So you mean there's another version of all of us in that parallel world? Like, the same person, but… slightly different? And your gran died, so... Oh my God, there could be other versions of me? And some of them could be dead?" She shuddered. It was like someone had walked over her grave.

Mickey slid his chair closer to the bed and took her hand. "Are you all right? Is this too much?"

She searched his face, and swallowed thickly. "No, no, I mean… Yes, it's kind of freaky, yeah. But… it's the truth, so I wanna know." She realised that she now one hundred percent believed anything he said. This was too crazy to make up, and she could see that the experience had left him scarred. Heck, she'd be traumatized too if she'd had to watch herself die. She gave his hand a little squeeze and let go, to run her fingers through her hair. She let out a deep breath and tried to put the image of another Martha Jones out of her mind for now. "So. You stayed. What about the others?"

Mickey sighed. "Well, Rose continued to travel with the Doctor then, back in our universe. I think for them it was only a few months, but for us it was three years before I saw them again." At Martha's questioning look he just waved a hand and said, "time runs at a different speed over there, or something; if you want the specific science, ask the Doctor."

Martha huffed a small laugh and just shook her head in disbelief.

"Well," he continued, "long story short, the Cybermen were planning to infiltrate the other world, so we built these… gadgets to go after them. We stopped them, and closed the walls between the worlds again. Only, Jackie and the Doctor got stuck with us, and Rose is now left over there all by herself."

Martha felt a stab at her heart and suddenly felt really sorry for having been so jealous of the other woman. "Oh God, that's terrible," she whispered.

"Yeah," Mickey said, his voice thick with emotion. "I mean, we're stuck, too, but at least we've all got each other, you know?"

"But… can't you go back? Or let her through? If you did it before…?"

"The breach is closed," Mickey said heavily. "That's why the Doctor is building the dimension cannon. It's supposed to work like a bridge. We need a way to breach the walls without, you know, tearing them down completely. Otherwise, according to him, the universe will, like, implode, or something," Mickey finished a bit lamely.

"Wow," Martha said quietly. Then she looked up at him. She couldn't help herself, she needed to ask. "So… if it works… if he repairs it or whatever, you'll all go back to the other world?"

Mickey locked eyes with her. The moment seemed to stretch on for what seemed an eternity, and she felt she was holding her breath at the whirlwind of emotions she saw in his face. Finally, he slowly shook his head. "I don't know." He cleared his throat and the spell was broken. "I think Jackie might stay. The Pete in our world died years ago, and the Jackie in this world died when the Cybermen took over this house… so it kind of worked out when they met again. But… she also misses Rose."

At Martha's puzzled frown, he explained. "She's her daughter."

"Oh," Martha exclaimed, as another piece of the mystery slotted into place. Yeah, she definitely had pictured Jackie as a mother earlier. It possibly explained how quickly she had been 'adopted' into this strange patchwork family.

"She doesn't always say so; I mean, we never talk about her, really. But she does. Ever since Rose started travelling with the Doctor, Jackie always looked to the stars, wondering when she'd come back. So did I, actually." Mickey let out a nervous chuckle. "Seems like ages ago."

He looked at Martha again. "I don't know. I mean… my gran's still here, so I might…" he swallowed and tried again. "Well, someone needs to help out Pete when the Doctor leaves again, right?"

"Right." Martha allowed herself a small smile. She sighed and let herself flop down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "God, this is all so weird."

"Tell me about it," he said and they both laughed a little.

Martha's head was still swirling with thoughts and ideas, too strange to all be understood and processed right now. She also noticed all of a sudden how tired she was, and let out a yawn. Mickey took this as his cue and got up. "I better let you catch some sleep."

When he'd reached the door, he turned back. "Good night, Martha."

"Good night… and Mickey? Thank you for telling me."

He smiled. "You're welcome."


	11. Inside Woman

**Chapter 11 – Inside Woman**

Martha awoke the next morning, feeling determined. She quickly got dressed in her clothes from the night before, somewhat roughly made the bed and headed downstairs. She heard sounds from the kitchen and found Pete Tyler in the adjoining dining room. Breakfast paraphernalia were strewn all over the table and Pete was reading a newspaper.

"Oh! Good morning! Have a nice sleep?"

Martha lingered by the doorway. "Yes, thank you. Most comfy bed I've ever slept in, I think," she added with a smile.

"Well, this all better be good for something," he replied with a grin and a nod around him. "Coffee? Tea?" He gestured to a small sideboard with cans and cups.

"Coffee would be lovely," she said and grabbed a cup. She poured some coffee and inhaled the aroma, sighing happily, then drew herself a chair.

"Breakfast?"

"Just coffee is fine," she said.

"Right." After a few seconds of awkward silence, he went back to his newspaper.

Martha sipped her coffee, gathering some courage. "Um, I was wondering…"

Pete looked up and put the newspaper aside. "Yes?"

"I'd like to let my family know I'm all right. And I wanna know what those people said to them last night… but I'm worried about my phone. They knew where Mickey and I were going, so it must have been tapped."

Pete frowned. "Yes, probably. I wonder when they did that? They never took it off you, did they?"

"No," Martha said, thinking back through the past few days.

"Hm. It occurs to me that if they got to your phone, they'll probably tap your family's, too. But we can at least try to be on the safe side… so just use ours for now. And maybe we can get the Doctor to fix yours later. It's in the hallway."

"Thank you," she said, relieved.

He eyed her thoughtfully again. "To be perfectly honest, I'm very curious about what they wanted with your family, too… Wonder if it was just leverage or more than that. Be careful you don't say too much, though."

Martha shot him a worried look and went to get the phone. She brought it back to the breakfast table and dialled. When it rang, she put it on speakerphone. Pete raised an eyebrow in surprise but seemed to be grateful for her openness.

"Yes?" The voice of her brother came through, sounding tired.

"Leo? It's me," she said, relieved to hear his voice.

"Martha, oh my God, where the hell have you been?!" She noticed his voice immediately dropped to a whisper, and she thought she heard a door close.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry… but when I got home I saw these people, and…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, a woman came to the house last night. She said she wanted to see you! Seemed pretty serious. What have you gotten yourself into?"

"Leo, it's fine. I'm…" her eyes flickered to Pete, "…working with the government. Top secret," she added, with a little smile.

"The government?" He hesitated a moment. "What happened?"

"I'm okay, don't worry about me. I saw some things I wasn't meant to, and I'm… being protected at the moment. But you need to stay clear of that woman, Leo, or anyone asking questions about me!"

"But they were…" Leo seemed unsure.

"What did they actually say?"

"Um, I'm not sure, Martha…" She heard him shuffle around and wondered where he was hiding in the small house.

" _Leo, what did she say to you_?"

His voice dropped almost to a whisper. "Well I didn't get all of it, but it seems they thought you'd..." he sounded uncomfortable. "Well, she said that either you'd fallen in with some criminal people or been, I dunno, taken by them, they said they didn't know and… needed to talk to you again about what you discussed at work or something."

Martha smiled grimly. Well if that wasn't a clear message. "Leo, promise you won't talk to them again! They're… I dunno, terrorists or something, so don't let them into the house again, you hear me?"

She could picture him running his hand down his face now, and heard him pace. "Oh Jeez, Martha, I… I mean, they… they had official papers and everything… They said they'd be back."

"Just don't let them into the house, please! Promise me you'll take care of Mum and Tish!"

"Oh God, Martha, where are you?"

"Can't say. Don't know when I'll be home. But I'm safe, don't worry."

"Martha, I…"

"Just… take care, all right? I'll see you," she said and quickly hung up. She let out a long breath. "Was that all right?" She sent a worried look to Pete.

He waited for a moment, taking in her look, then began laughing a little. "Martha, it seems to me you think we're secret agents or something – we're really not, you know. I mean, apart from the alien on staff, we're just a research institute, when it comes down to it," he grinned and sipped on his coffee.

She blushed and pushed some of her hair behind her ear, drinking her coffee.

Pete chuckled. "Hey, you did well, and like I said last night, better too much security than too little." He leaned on the table, putting away his newspaper. "I did some digging on your Mrs. Slater, by the way. 'Terrorist' is not too far off. She has some interesting connections, and seems to be the major player of their organisation in Central London."

"Oh, is she now?" came Mickey's mocking voice from the door. He grinned at Pete.

"Yes, yes, I apologize, you were right," Pete said, raising his hands. "Thank you, Martha, again, for that information," he offered with a mock little bow. Martha grinned.

Mickey wiggled his eyebrows at her in triumph.

"Honestly, you'll never let me forget my scepticism, will you?" Pete said, exasperated.

"Nope," Mickey smiled and made himself a cup of tea.

x

After breakfast, Pete drove them to Torchwood tower. On the way, Martha decided on another small tactical move; she called in sick at Greenway. At least this way, it would look okay officially for a few days. She'd have to hand in her resignation, she realised. And where would she live? She wished she could go home for a change of clothes – the ones she was wearing still smelled of club and dancing and running.

But then she noticed how Mickey, next to her on the back seat, was ever so slightly leaning into her, and then, after a while, he casually placed his hand on top of hers. At Torchwood tower, Pete properly introduced her to everyone as a new team member, with Mickey beaming like Christmas had come early – and all of a sudden, the clothes or the mundane questions of her living arrangements were blown clean out of her mind. This was new, and amazing, and these people she met had eyes that had… _seen things_. She learned quickly that they all knew how to hold a gun, but also how to work on a matter condenser, and being Jacks of all trades seemed to come with their jobs. But most of all, they all seemed really glad to have her on board. She'd never met such an interesting and weird number of people, yet at the same time, she'd never felt so welcome and comfortable anywhere in her daily life before.

The only exception to the bustle and casualness was probably the Doctor. He was sitting by the remnants of the machine, a laptop on the ground next to him, his metal device (apparently some kind of screwdriver, Mickey had explained,) pointed at some cables. He'd said hello and welcome, and then gone back to his tinkering. She remembered Mickey's explanations the night before, and could tell now that getting back to the 'right' universe fuelled his motivation and drive in a way nobody else on the team could probably relate to. Perhaps, his strange alien nature simply did not allow him to accept this 'wrong' order of things. Then she thought of the girl, Rose, leaving everything behind to travel the stars with him, and what she may have meant to him. Maybe things were quite simple sometimes – alien or not.

Finally, Pete took her into the med bay, and introduced her to Cho Li, the team's only medic. She was a small, obviously very shy girl. She wore dark clothes underneath a lab coat, and her long, dark hair was swept up in a complicated braid on the back of her head. Pete excused himself and asked Cho to show her around what was, for all intents and purposes, her new workplace.

After about 20 minutes, she got the idea that she'd seen everything she needed to know. Bandages, medical beds, stimulants, sedatives, painkillers, defibrillators – the place was well stocked for any kind of emergency. Yet Cho kept going into more and more detail about vials and antitoxins and other myriads of vials on the shelves, until Martha finally stopped her.

"Cho, I know we've only just met, but can I just say: _deep breath_."

Cho blushed and giggled nervously. "Oh, um, I…" she said, then let out a breath.

Martha sat down on one of the plastic chairs and motioned her new colleague to do the same. "Come on, I only just got here, you don't need to explain every single thing you know in one hour."

"Yeah, I guess," she said, still looking unsure.

"How long have you been working here?" Martha felt that it would be good to get to know her before things started blowing up again; maybe she'd come out of her shell a little more and tell her something about the place and its people, rather than the different medical trays.

"Um, I joined a couple of months ago with the rest of the team. We're all relatively new," Cho said, finally sitting down and folding her hands neatly in her lap.

"So what's it like," Martha went on eagerly. "Working here, I mean. How did you meet them?"

They chatted for a while about their lives before Torchwood and Cho told her how she and the others had come to join the institute. It seemed most of them had simply applied, following a strange little advert in the paper. Nobody but her appeared to have quite such a dramatic entrance as Martha. From what she pieced together, Cho was an orphan, and had been unemployed for a while, unsure what to do with her life. The ad had attracted her attention because it was weird and unusual – "and I like unusual," she smiled shyly and fussed with the hem of her coat. Now at least, she could take some pride in her abilities to stich people back together, while at the same time having the freedom to do some independent research as well. She had a proper medical degree, which Martha admired greatly, as well as another one in bio-engineering.

Martha sighed. "Wow. I wish I had a degree. We didn't have the money, though. Except for my sister, 'cause, naturally, she's perfect and got a scholarship." She rolled her eyes and Cho giggled. It seemed she was warming up to Martha.

"At least you have siblings. Big family, that sounds nice," she said wistfully.

"Oh, not always," Martha said. "There's days that I'd trade my snotty sister for a medical degree in a second!"

Cho smiled again at her overdramatising self-deprecation. "Well," she offered, "it's not like I need it much. Actually, as a medic, you'll have much more field experience than I do – I'm more of the lab type; not so great with people." She shifted on her seat. "Most of the injuries here are minor, anyways."

Martha felt a warm appreciation for the girl – she was honestly trying to make her feel better. She leaned back and smiled. "Well, and then there's always the man who heals himself, I guess," she sighed, shaking her head. "Still can't wrap my head around that, to be honest."

Cho sat up straighter. "Oh! Yes! The Doctor is most remarkable. And the things he knows, you wouldn't believe it. It's like, he just casually mentions that he knows the cure for Rhinewald disease, before going on about how the dimension extrapolator works!" Her face was animated now, her cheeks blushing.

Martha laughed. "Sounds like he's got a fan!"

Cho faltered. " _No, no, no_ , it's just, it's just very impressive, on a _scientific_ level," she stammered, and Martha grinned. After that, Cho quickly changed the subject; clearly, gossiping about cute co-workers would have to wait a bit.

x

At lunch, Pete invited Martha and Mickey to his office for another round of take-out and an update on Mrs. Slater.

"I've been in touch with the President, and she…"

" _The President_?" Martha interrupted, leaning forward, nearly spilling her curry.

Pete laughed. "Yes, we do like to keep her updated from time to time, and really, you'll get used to it, Martha… careful with that sauce."

Mickey sent her a quick grin. Martha quickly shifted the polystyrene package on her lap, and shook her head as Pete continued.

"Anyway, she hasn't heard of Mrs. Slater before, which is a bit worrying. She said she'd have it looked into. I believe, however, that the woman simply went by another name, and, well… has a knack for disguises. Could you do me a favour and look at these pictures?"

He turned his monitor around for Martha to see three pictures of three completely different looking women. She narrowed her eyes at the images in turn. "I don't really see…" she began. Suddenly, she gasped. Underneath the fashionable hat on one of the pictures, she saw that fake, friendly smile again. It was strange, seeing 'Mrs. Slater' dressed like a society lady, in a white costume and high heels.

"It's her! That's definitely her. She dresses completely different now, but that smile…" she shuddered and examined the other two pictures. Again, it was hard to tell, but now that she knew, it was clear that it was the same woman who'd transformed into a lower class worker, and then into a girlish-looking figure, wearing a flower-patterned dress. "Wow, she does get around, doesn't she," Martha commented as Pete turned back his monitor. "She should have considered a career on the stage."

Pete grinned. "Thank you for that – at least now I can say we have an eye-witness who can identify the woman, even if she decides to waltz in here in a ball gown," he added.

"Always happy to help," Martha grinned, and continued eating her curry.

x

In the evening, Martha decided then and there that she absolutely loved the place. They showed her some of the systems, when they got a live update from a Torchwood team that was currently in Brazil. Seeing some of their members actively fight the Cybermen, detailing their daily successes, bolstered Martha's courage once again. Cho showed her some alien tissue they'd recovered and what she learned from it, and a girl named Pippa promised to show Martha some 'sick martial arts' moves, in case she didn't want to use a gun, and showed her where the stun guns were kept. All throughout the day, Mickey had been checking in on her, and their flirty banter made the day even more enjoyable. All in all, it was perfect. Looking back, Martha later decided that she should have known something so amazing wouldn't last.

Pete was just telling them it was time to call it a day, when Martha's phone rang. It was her sister. She sighed and moved away a few steps from the others.

"Tish?"

"Martha, what the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?" she began a little nervously.

"Leo called, and said you were kidnapped by terrorists? Did you put him up to this nonsense?" Tish sounded thoroughly annoyed, as if her siblings were pulling some strange prank on her. "Honest to God, I wouldn't even have called, but he sounded right out of his mind. Well, obviously you're fine, so can it please be your responsibility to see what mind-altering drugs he's on?"

"Tish, I…"

"And will you please stop messing with Mum, she's got enough on her plate without worrying about you, too. Honestly, how often do I have to tell you?!"

"No, but…" There was a short beep, then silence. Martha stared at her phone. "She hung up on me," she whispered in disbelief. Several nasty insults immediately sprung to her mind, and she bit her tongue in anger.

"Something the matter?" Mickey came over to check.

Martha gave her phone another annoyed glance. "Just my sister being… weird…" Suddenly, cold realization gripped her and made her freeze in her movements. She stared off into space for a second, putting the information together… then she looked up at Mickey in horror. "He didn't believe me," she said slowly.

"Who didn't?" Mickey frowned.

"Leo. He thinks I've been captured by terrorists. _Which means_ …"

Suddenly, the doors to the lab burst open, and several armed men in combat gear swarmed into the room, guns pointed at the assembled Torchwood team. Hands went up everywhere. Mickey quickly positioned himself in front of Martha, trying to back them away from the door. She also saw the Doctor rise to his feet behind the machine, and Pete stood somewhere next to them, also backing away slowly. One guard went into the medical bay and rounded up Cho.

Finally, Mrs. Slater strode in. "Not exactly a ball gown," Martha muttered so that Pete and Mickey could hear. Mickey's mouth twitched a little, and Pete nodded in comprehension.

Behind Mrs. Slater followed Martha's mother and Leo, looking around anxiously, flanked by guards. Her former employer looked around until she found her halfway hidden behind Mickey. "Ah, Martha, dear, there you are! We've been looking all over for you. Didn't you want your new key card?" Her voice was honey, but the sarcastic tone was unmistakeable. She wore a nasty sneer on her usually so mild face.

Martha stepped around Mickey and straightened. She furiously tried not to shake and keep her voice steady. She was terrified, but she wasn't gonna hide. "Yeah, didn't you get the note? I quit."

Mrs. Slater tutted her, like one would a petulant child. "Martha, I'm afraid you've been labouring under false assumptions. You've been rather… taken in. Your mother was so worried about you!"

"Martha, please step away from them," her mother pleaded. "They're dangerous, and you shouldn't be involved with them. Come over here this instant."

Pete took a step forward, his hands still raised. "Mrs. Slater, I'd like to inform you that this is a government institute, and you're breaking and entering. We have emergency systems in place, this building will be swarming with police before long. You've overshot yourself."

Mrs. Slater, however, completely ignored him. "Martha, you should really listen to your mother. We came to get you out of here. If you will talk to me, I can help you. We are powerful, we can protect you from them."

"The only one I need protecting from is you," Martha spat. "Following me, taking my family…"

"Oh, I assure you, they came to _us_ ," she replied in her sappy sweet voice. "We didn't have you followed, dear, why would we? I am guessing this is a tactic you employ to ensure compliance, eh, Mr. Tyler?" She raised an eyebrow, finally acknowledging his presence. "Make people so paranoid they believe anything you tell them."

Leo looked at her, pleading as well. "Martha, whatever they told you, it's just to get you into their clutches. They showed us the files – it's their method! People get taken in by the so-called _Torchwood_ , and then they disappear!"

"What?" Martha stared at him in disbelief.

"Martha, please, whatever lies they have told you, it's over now."

Suddenly, the Doctor stepped forward from behind the machine. "What is it you want, Mrs. Slater?"

"Ah!" She sounded positively delighted now. "And here he is. Martha, I understand from certain sources that they would have you believe this man is an alien? Another blatant fairy tale to take in young, impressionable people like yourself." She looked in back to Martha. "Dear, you are young and full of imagination! They're using that to draw you in, they've done it to countless others…" she said, sounding compassionate. She gave a small nod in Mickey's direction. "Other women before you have made the same mistakes, Martha, don't follow in their footsteps."

Martha felt a small tendril of doubt creep into her heart. She thought of Rose, and her fate; the thought of what Mickey had said about it being dangerous; how she hadn't really had much choice once she'd been at the house. She thought of the supposed agent in the bar – _she_ never saw him, she just took Mickey's word for it when they bolted. And the Doctor? Perhaps he _was_ just a genetic experiment gone wrong, after all. She glanced from the Doctor, to Pete, and finally to Mickey, who stood beside her, glancing down at her, his face unreadable. She swallowed thickly.

Suddenly, she felt him reach out and his warm hand brushed against hers gently. She didn't have to think. She grabbed it instantly, and held on tight. A small smile twitched in the corner of his mouth.

Martha looked back at the hateful woman. "They have earned my trust, Mrs. Slater. _You_ haven't," she said steadily.

The woman's features hardened, and her sickly smile became a harrowing grimace. "Your loss," she spat, and nodded to the guards standing by Martha's mother and brother. Just as Martha cried out, the guards grabbed them, and held pistols to their temples.

"Mum! Leo!"

"But we helped you," Leo sputtered, helplessly restrained. Martha's mother looked frantically between her daughter and Mrs. Slater, her eyes sending daggers. "I demand an explanation for this!" she thundered, but Mrs. Slater ignored her.

"Right, then. This could have been avoided, dear, I hope you remember that." She raised her voice. "Mr. Tyler, you will order your team to lie on the ground, their hands behind their heads. You," she nodded to the Doctor, "will come with us, as will Miss Jones."

Pete's eyes flickered to the Doctor, then to the guns pointed at Martha's family. "Do as she says," he ordered, and the team slowly laid down their hastily grabbed weapons and lowered themselves to the ground. The Doctor stepped forward slowly.

"You too, Mr. Tyler," Mrs. Slater said, her sweet voice back in place. "I'm afraid we have no use for you." Pete slowly got to his knees, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.

Mickey stood in front of Martha again, defiant. "Oh!" Mrs. Slater cried in her enraptured voice. "Look at that, how brave! But can I just say – dating a co-worker? It never would have worked out. Now, Mr. Smith, if you please," she said sweetly. She nodded her head, and three guns suddenly pointed at him.

"Please," Martha whispered. "Don't."

He glanced at her, pain and misery evident in his face. He finally lowered himself to the ground, and Martha stepped forward to stand next to the Doctor. It seemed that the centre of gravity in the room suddenly shifted. He almost glowed with authority, and she noticed from the way the team was glancing at the Doctor, that they were expecting something to happen. His eyes bored down into the woman as she came towards them. He gave her a grim smile. "Oh, Mrs. Slater, you're a clever woman. You know exactly who I am, don't you?"

The woman raked her eyes over him appreciatively, as if she'd just won the jackpot. "Oh, you'll be a most interesting specimen to study, Doctor," she purred. "We've never had a _live_ one before, only crashed ships and corpses. You are… quite unique."

Her voice made Martha want to gag.

The Doctor looked at her darkly, the smile vanished, his voice low and menacing. "Oh, you may know much about me, but you don't know nearly enough. I haven't been around long enough, you see. But where I come from, my reputation usually precedes me. Good thing, too, because it makes people reconsider their actions."

Mrs. Slater tutted again and turned away. The Doctor continued, a little louder now. "I urge you to reconsider, Mrs. Slater, otherwise this will end badly for you, I promise. This is your one chance. You won't get another."

A chill ran down Martha's spine. She felt danger radiating from him, a contained rage that she'd only caught glimpses off beneath the calm surface. If there was ever a basic instinct in the human brain, she realised, it was the fight or flight reaction. Her heart thumped in her chest. Everything about the Doctor right in this moment screamed "FLIGHT" at her in red neon letters in her mind.

But Mrs. Slater didn't see the predatory glare that emanated from his eyes. She only laughed and continued for the door, motioning to the guards, who moved forward, weapons raised. Martha's heartbeat quickened, as she glanced fearfully to her mother and brother. Suddenly, she heard the Doctor's voice by her side, quiet as a whisper. " _On three, drop to the ground_."

Her breath hitched in her throat and she nodded slightly.

"One… two… _THREE_!"

Martha dropped to the ground, her hands over her head, just as he whipped up his hand, his screwdriver at the ready, pointing it at one of the fuse boxes at the wall. The console exploded in a shower of sparks, and all over the room, cable connectors burst, and everything went dark.

Shouts and screams erupted around her, as she groped around to get her bearings. Shots were being fired, and she heard Mrs. Slater shouting at her soldiers through the chaos. Mickey called for her, and she quickly crawled backwards to where she thought he was. Her eyes slowly adjusted, as the emergency light from the hallway spilled into the lab. She found Mickey's hand, just as he mumbled, "emergency exit, this way" and nodded. They started crawling as fast as they could, and saw that Pete was behind a desk, pressing buttons. "Emergency team's on its way," he shouted to them over the noise. As they crawled on, they saw the Doctor hiding behind the next desk, fiddling with his screwdriver. The rest of the Torchwood team had taken cover behind some equipment and desks, shooting and throwing things in the direction of the soldiers. She thought she even saw a stapler flying. Out of the corner of her eye, Martha saw Cho kneeling next to one of the armed guards, a syringe in her hand; she'd obviously gotten the better of her attacker as well.

Martha made it as far as the strange machine when she heard her mother yell.

She looked up and saw her mother lunge forward, calling her name. Behind her, the guard took aim. Everything seemed to suddenly happen in slow motion, and she felt like her heart had stopped for a moment. Martha jumped up only to collide with her mother as she bounded over, and quickly threw her aside, out of harm's way. She could hear the shot going off, as well as a voice shouting "get down!" and felt someone lunge at her from the ground. She sensed a rush of air, collided with something hard; a bright light exploded around her, and then everything went black.

x

The Doctor saw it happen in painfully slow succession. Martha's mother jumped into her daughter's arms, and then was thrown aside as a shot fell. Mickey yelled for Martha to get down and threw himself at her legs, to pull her out of the line of fire. The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver to stop their attacker, but it was too late. The shot cleanly hit one of the open panels on the dimension cannon, and with a sizzling explosion, a blinding light burst through the room. He saw Mickey fall down, and cover Martha's body with his own. Then everything went dark again.

He spun around and pointed his screwdriver at the confused guard, who was blinking from the sudden brightness. He clicked the screwdriver once to disable his gun and, thanking his superior ocular nerves for shielding him from the same effect, put a finger to the man's forehead. Before he knew what was going on, he collapsed unconscious to the floor. The Doctor didn't waste a second, and strode straight towards Mrs. Slater. This would stop. Now.

She was also blinking from the light and tried to orientate herself. The Doctor raised his hand to put her to sleep, but before he could reach her, Martha's brother suddenly jumped up and delivered a crunching blow right to her face. She went down like a stone.

The Doctor stopped, taken aback, raised eyebrows at the slightly dazed man in front of him. "Nice punch, Leo!"

Leo tried to focus his eyes and shook his hand. "Ow," he moaned.

"Glad you finally came to your senses," the Doctor smirked, and held out his screwdriver towards the nearest armed guy reacting to them. "Put. It. Down."

The man looked around, and in the orange glow from the emergency hallway lighting could tell that he was outnumbered. Some of his colleagues had been shot, the Doctor noted, and he could hear from the moaning that at least one of the Torchwood team was injured as well. He turned around and pointed the screwdriver at the fuse box again. Some of the lights came back on with a crackling hum. He turned to look at the scene. "It's over," he said, "is everyone all right?"

Suddenly, he heard a scuffle from behind him. " _Gerroffme_! _Oi!_ I said, GET OFF!" a voice shouted frantically.

He saw Mickey quickly clamber off Martha from where she'd fallen, staring at her flailing figure, still looking dazed. Martha's mother was also gaping at her. "What happened, where am I?!" Martha demanded, looking around like a caged animal.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he took in Martha's appearance. He stepped a bit closer to look her up and down and swallowed hard when something akin to hope and dread alike gripped his hearts. "When did you put on that coat?" he asked quietly.

Mickey also gaped at her in utter confusion. "Martha…? W-what happened to your hair?"

Martha stared at all of them in turn; eyes wide open in complete shock and fear. "Who the hell _are you_?" she fired at Mickey and the Doctor. "Where am I?! _Where's Jack_? _What have you done with Rose_?"

The Doctor froze. "Did you just say… _Rose_?"


	12. Impossible Things

**Chapter 12 – Impossible Things**

Rose awoke from a deep and dreamless sleep. Before she opened her eyes, she took a moment to let her other senses take in her surroundings. She had gone to sleep in the Doctor's bed again; the TARDIS was humming quietly. She felt different; as if her body had expanded, making her fingers and toes stretch all the way through the endless rooms and corridors of the ship. She could feel the emptiness with every fibre of her being, sensed the quiet, regular hum in her core like a heartbeat. With a pang she realised that this was what the Doctor felt all the time, this loneliness. Before she had become… whatever she was now, she hadn't been aware of this curious dimension of thinking. Now that her mind had become used to the telepathic connection, the widened awareness inside herself, she realised how empty she felt. It was like she had never been able to see colours, and now that she was able to, all the colour had faded from her world.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, staring at the swirling galaxies in the ceiling. Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through her mind, and she felt vertigo. She clutched a hand to her forehead and sat up. The vertigo slowly faded, but the headaches remained. She felt as if someone had pushed over a stack of heavy books in her mind. She tumbled to the bathroom and shed her clothes on the way.

Her heightened senses seemed to be on overdrive now. She could taste something on her tongue, like… blood or fire or vengeance. She felt a heat curse through her veins, a glittery stream of golden knowledge and might. Another stab of pain rattled her mind, and she suddenly saw the Empress of the Racnoss, glorious and crimson, rear up on her many legs, screaming in terror. She saw the golden glow envelop the laboratory, saw her own mind burning with the flames, trying to save the earth from this horror. But what was the horror now?

Rose fell to her knees. What had she become? She wasn't just Rose any more. She felt the heat in her mind rise. The Bad Wolf was consuming her entire being. The vertigo returned, worse than before. She dragged herself to the lavatory and threw up.

x

Through a haze, Rose finally dragged herself upright again. Her mouth tasted stale and horrible. She realised she was almost naked and shivered. She moved into the shower and turned it on. The hot water began to chase away the rest of her dizziness. The headaches had gone for the moment, and her mind seemed to have returned to normal. However, somewhere in her mind, somewhere almost unnoticed as of yet, there was something _shifting_. She looked at the droplets of water on her body and moved her hands through the spray slowly, almost hypnotically focusing on the sensation of water on skin, heat on cold tissue. She felt her mind wander down infinitesimal routes of future and past; thinking about where this water came from, where her skin came from, why she was born human on Earth and not any other thing on any other planet in the whole universe…

Suddenly, her foot slipped a little on the tiles and her hand snapped to the wall to steady her. Her mind returned to the act of getting clean, and she tried to put her momentary distraction down to sheer fatigue.

After she was clean and dressed comfortably in her jeans, t-shirt and favourite zip-up hoodie, she stopped by the kitchen for a bite to eat. Once again, the silence weighed on her. As she was munching absent-mindedly on some alien breakfast dish, she pondered whether she should have asked Donna to come with her. She'd always wondered what had made the Doctor ask his companions on board so frequently – now she felt she understood. The ship was literally too big for just one person all by themselves. She'd go stir crazy before long if she kept this up.

But Donna had her family to go back to, and her life to sort out… she had messed up things for her enough already. It wouldn't be fair to drag her into this quest of hers. But who else was there in this universe to help?

Suddenly it hit her. Jack. There was always Jack. She thought back – had it really only been a few days since she had become this new being? When she'd looked into the TARDIS, when she'd changed to what she was now, she had finally remembered. She saw Jack before her, in the dark red glow of the Gamestation on Satellite 5… breathing in ragged gasps the life she had given back to him. He was alive, out there, somewhere. And if there was anyone who would be willing and able to help her find the Doctor again, it was him.

But how would she find Jack? She looked up at the ceiling doubtfully and said, "is there such a thing as the universal phone book?" She chuckled slightly, a bit confused to hear her own voice ring out in the silence, her throat still a bit raw.

The warm humming of the TARDIS was in her mind. _Rose Tyler, there is a way. It's on my central console._

Rose jumped up, leaving the remains of her breakfast, and quickly went to the console room. The warm light comforted her mind a little, as she remembered how the room had changed along with her. She gently brushed a hand over one of the coral supports. Then she examined the console. There were quite a few functions, buttons, balls and levers she had never used, and probably never would; but there was also something new. A large panel opened up before her, as if the TARDIS had kept it hidden until now. It consisted of a strange, coral mass, like a glowing rose-quartz coloured rock that had been hollowed out by the sea.

 _Touch it,_ the TARDIS urged. _My telepathic circuits can connect to your timeline and find a person you had contact with._

Rose raised an eyebrow as she studied the device. "And no chance that would have ever come in handy before…?" she murmured a little sarcastically. She looked up. "Why didn't we use this all the time? Seems way more convenient than flying… _normally_ ," she asked. She grinned a little at the end, fondly remembering the Doctor's many crash landings and crazy flight manoeuvres. _Lately, I've contributed to that list_ , she thought. Donna and the motorway. The Doctor would have been proud.

 _The device is not always accurate_ , the TARDIS offered. _You have to concentrate. Clear your mind._

Rose stared at the telepathic circuitry and slowly reached out. ' _Try anything'_ , she thought, and with a little leap of faith plunged in her hands. It felt soft and gooey, but not unpleasantly so. The humming in her mind intensified, and she felt a warmth creep up her arms and torso. She focused her mind on one thing only.

Jack.

Captain Jack Harkness.

Images appeared in her mind, memories of their time together. A golden thread spun onwards through the events that tied them together. Him in his World War II uniform. His charming, infectious, irresistible smile. Dancing on a space ship in front of Big Ben. The con man, a stranger, becoming a hero, and a friend. Dinner in Cardiff. Kyoto. The Gamestation. The Daleks. Death. _Life._

 _Too much life. Endless life. Immortality._

The golden thread began to glow. It grew brighter and brighter, causing her nausea to return. _I am the Bad Wolf. I bring life._

 _No_ , Rose whimpered.

The golden thread wound through the universe, fixed, unshaking, unchanging, forever a certainty. It hurt her to look at it, to feel its wrongness in her very nerves.

 _No. This is wrong_ , she felt the TARDIS project in her mind. _This cannot be, ever._

 _We must find him!_

 _NO. He is fixed. We can never be close to him. He is an impossible thing._

 _He is our friend, we need him._

 _He is the antithesis to everything we are_

 _And yet we need him!_

Rose felt herself speak the words, ringing throughout the TARDIS, forcing the ship to go where instinct told them both not to. She gripped hold of the golden thread, and felt it to be hard as steel, hot as burning iron. Her face felt wet and her entire body was exhausted; she vaguely heard the ship land somewhere, before everything went black.

x

Jack was sitting in his office, talking to Gwen, just barely processing the events of the previous week. His body still ached from his recent resurrection, his mind still seeing images of Abaddon and the ensuing chaos.

"What's happened to the rift?" Gwen was sitting on his desk, staring into space.

"Closed up when Abaddon was destroyed. But it's gonna be more volatile than ever," he said.

Gwen's voice was serious. "The visions we had. We all saw people we loved." She hesitated, and he tried to focus on the papers on his desk. "What did you see?" she continued.

He looked up. "Nothing," he said. "There was nothing."

Gwen bit her lip briefly, and sighed. "Jack. What would have tempted you? What visions would have convinced you to open the rift?"

He didn't have to think. He looked past Gwen, seeing in his mind's eye the people he'd cherished in his memory for over a century. "The right kind of doctor."

He abruptly pushed back his chair and left the room. He could never explain this to his team, as much as they'd grown closer now; they couldn't understand the complexity, the shared history. The Doctor and Rose, they had changed him, made him into the man he was now. They had shown him a way of living in this crazy, dark universe which he had not known before.

He walked out of the office and tried to laugh off Gwen's too perceptive questions. Just as he was passing the walkway, he heard something beeping. Something bubbling. _The hand._

The Doctor's hand, which he had so carefully preserved, was finally triggering the alarm he'd built into it. Excitement spread through him and his heart beat faster. Then he heard that familiar noise, that wonderful, heart-wrenching sound he'd missed for so long. The TARDIS was here, no doubt about it.

And he ran.

The stone elevator couldn't move fast enough for him. As it ascended, he quickly stuffed the bubbling container with the hand in his rucksack and tried to take a steadying breath. His heart nearly did a backflip when he finally reached the Plass above and saw the beautiful blue box standing right in front of him. He never had seen a greater sight.

"Doctor!" he called, but was only greeted by silence. He was thinking of the man he'd once known, with the big ears and the nose, and the grumpy disposition. And of the woman by his side, who'd saved him with her smile and her wit; the two of them, so clearly infatuated with each other, yet somehow blissfully unaware of what it was they shared.

He'd missed them both so much it ached. He stepped closer, gently touching the aged wooden box. It seemed like a shudder went through it, but then everything was still again. Something was wrong. Where were they? He walked around the box, shouting, complete ignoring the stares from some onlookers.

"Rose? Doctor! Open up! _Please_!" He dropped his heavy backpack and slammed his hand against the door repeatedly. "Please," he said, choking up. This was insane. It was right here, yet… suddenly, a thought struck him. Perhaps it was the wrong TARDIS, the wrong Doctor! Perhaps it had been such a long time since they last met that the Doctor had forgotten about him. But even the closed-off man he'd known was not that cold or cruel. On the contrary. He could never forget things easily, that much Jack had seen. Maybe it was an earlier version of him. Or maybe the Doctor and Rose were both dead. Maybe the TARDIS was an empty shell, returned to the rift just by default…

Just as he was ready to give up, he saw his backpack glow faintly. A golden tendril crept from the container up to the doors. The TARDIS gave another little shudder, and finally, the door slowly creaked open.

Jack bounded inside, but stopped dead halfway up the ramp. The lights were dimmed and flickering, and several things appeared strewn about as if the ship had crash-landed. Badly. He just about registered that the interior seemed to have changed, when he rounded the console and saw her. Cold fear gripped his heart.

Rose.

She was lying on the floor, arms spread from her body in an unnatural angle. On her head and face, he saw traces of blood. Everything was deadly silent. His breath stopped as he dropped to the ground next to her, checking her vital signs. Her skin was cold; but tears began spilling from his eyes when he felt a faint pulse. He brushed some hair out of her face and called her name, but she didn't stir.

"Doctor!" he called again. He looked around the strange, new console room. The silence was almost tangible. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was deeper inside the ship, maybe injured or dead… Jack took a deep breath.

 _First things first._

He gently gathered up Rose in his arms, and turned around. As he made his way down the ramp, he heard Gwen call his name.

"Jack, are you in there?" she asked, disbelief in her voice. "Your coffee is getting… cold…" She trailed off as she poked her head inside the TARDIS, her mouth gaping wide. "What in the…"

She withdrew her head, then looked back. "It's… bigger on the inside!"

Jack exited the TARDIS, holding Rose protectively against his body, and let the door fall closed. Gwen stared at him and the injured blonde in his arms, her face the image of confusion. "Who's that?"

"That's Rose. And I promise I will explain all I can as soon as she's not dying any more. Help me, please?"

Gwen's eyes widened briefly, but then she nodded in understanding. She grabbed his backpack and followed him to the hidden elevator. They made their way back to the Hub, and Jack was greeted by three more wondering looks. Owen, however sprung into action immediately when he spotted the unconscious woman and led the way to the infirmary. Jack laid Rose carefully down on the medical bed, and Owen began examining her, no instructions needed.

He looked at the blood stains on her head and nose, and frowned. "There seems to be no apparent head injury that I can see, and this appears to be the result of a nosebleed." He examined her arms, torso and legs, briefly raising her shirt, checking for wounds or obvious injuries. He ran a scanning device over her body, briefly frowning at the results. Then he pulled out his stethoscope and checked on her vitals the old-fashioned way. Jack noticed that the entire team had gathered in the infirmary, silently watching. Owen frowned and moved the stethoscope over Rose's chest, first once, then twice; then he slowly looked up at Jack.

Jack was so nervous, he couldn't even think straight. He clenched and unclenched his fists in desperation, looking down at her body. What the hell was the problem here? "Is she okay?!" he finally burst out when Owen didn't say anything.

Owen took off the stethoscope and raised an eyebrow. "There's no internal or external injuries that I can find, but…"

"What?!" Jack shouted, exasperated at his strange hesitance.

Owen shrugged. "Well, hear for yourself." He handed him the stethoscope, and Jack frowned as he put it on. He gingerly placed it on Rose's chest.

He froze. His eyes snapped up to Owen's in shock, who looked down at Rose with a serious expression. Jack moved the stethoscope back and forth once again, but it was unmistakeable. There was a double heartbeat; it was a little faint, and perhaps a bit fast, but… she had the heartbeat of a Time Lord.

He pulled down the stethoscope and gently laid his hand on Rose's cheek, brushing away some of the blood-stained strands. "Oh, Rose," he said sadly.

"Who is she?" Owen asked, sounding intrigued.

Jack didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. "Why isn't she awake?" he asked quietly.

Owen sighed and looked down on the sleeping woman. "I don't know… I'd say she's experienced some kind of trauma and is now recovering from it. I think, seeing as she's stable for now, that she'll just wake up when she's rested a bit."

Toshiko walked down the stairs and gazed at the girl on the medical bed. "What happened to her?" she asked, concerned.

Jack sighed and took a step back. "I think she crash-landed her spaceship on the Rift."

x

A few minutes and several disbelieving stares later, Jack and his team sat assembled around the table, drinking their lukewarm coffees. Owen had assured them that they could leave Rose sleeping for now, and that any change the machine monitoring her would immediately alert them. Jack had washed away some of the blood as gently as he could, once again noting that there was indeed no injury to be seen. Not a scratch was on her; well at least that was something. He only hoped it wasn't somebody else's blood entirely.

He'd briefly gone back to check on the TARDIS, but he had found no trace of the Doctor. He hadn't expected to. Something about Rose in her current state simply screamed 'desperate measures', and Jack was sure something had happened to the man she loved.

He cradled his coffee in his hand, staring into space. He knew his team was waiting to explain. But how could he possibly summarise Rose and the Doctor?

"Before Torchwood," he began, and sighed. "I was a different man. From a different… time, in fact." He looked around cautiously. He'd never told them this much, but he figured after the recent events, a little bit of openness couldn't hurt. "There was this… time traveller, called the Doctor. Him and Rose used to travel together. I met them… during World War II. Good times," he smiled, and drained his cup.

Gwen looked at him like her eyes were about to drop from her head. "You're a _time traveller_ ," she said.

"Well," he began, feeling a little self-conscious all of a sudden. "Not really. Used to be. Why do you think I know so much about aliens?"

Gwen cocked an eyebrow. "We just thought you were that clever," she replied with a ghost of a smile.

Toshiko looked at Jack and held his gaze. "Is she an alien?" Jack heard the unspoken question beneath that and sighed.

"She wasn't last time we met. I don't know what happened to her, or the Doctor, but she's not a threat," he emphasized, making sure they understood that bit. "After what we've just been through, I realize you're all a bit shaken. But I can promise you that this has nothing to do with Abaddon or the Rift. She's my friend, just to make this abundantly clear."

All of them looked down at their hands, and nodded quietly. He added, a bit unsure himself, "I think she may have come to find me. Something must have happened to the Doctor. He'd never leave her side."

"So, _when_ was the _last time_ you saw them," Ianto asked pointedly, looking around at them in turn.

Jack felt the memories stir in his mind. The Daleks overrunning the station. His death and inexplicable resurrection. Everything turned to dust… and the TARDIS abandoning him. He had wondered for so many years why they left him behind. There must have been a good reason why they never looked for him, never came back. He'd spent long times in the past blaming them, nursing the pain of being deserted. But he'd long since concluded that there had to be some plausible explanation for _everything_.

"We were…" he swallowed, and tried again. "We were travelling, and suddenly, something transported us to this station. A space station," he clarified. "In the year 200,100…" he finally sighed once again, and launched into the story. The team remained riveted to their seats in silence the entire time. He never thought he could tell anyone about what happened then, but it felt good to share it. It felt like it helped a little to knit them back together.

"The last thing I remember," he finished, "was that I… died. Three Daleks cornered me, and I was the last line of defence between them and the Doctor. He was the only one who could stop them, and he was ready to lay down his life, too. He was going to destroy the Earth, just to make sure the Daleks were gone for good."

Gwen shuddered. "Thank goodness we've never run into them," she muttered.

Jack nodded. "They're almost indestructible. The ultimate killing machine, the perfect soldier. No feelings, no remorse, just a metal can full of hate…" he trailed off, remembering the Doctor's speech on the Dalek command ship. "The Doctor was the only one who was able to intimidate them." He laughed. "He was so bold, it was incredible. And Rose… she refused to leave his side. Ever." _I even kissed them goodbye…_ he thought mournfully. He wiped a hand over his face, when tears threatened to fall. "He sent her away, into the past. Home to her family, in the TARDIS, so that she wouldn't be killed alongside us. That's the last time I saw her."

Tosh frowned. "So… he sent her home, and this is where she ended up?"

Jack looked up, thinking about it. "I don't know. It's possible, yes. It could be that she has only just left the Game Station… but something tells me that's not it. She's different, she looks a bit older… and the ship's different, too. I have a feeling some time did pass for her, too." Only not as much as for him, he knew that much.

The team was silent again. He looked around, raising an eyebrow at them, challenging them. "So! What do you think? The boss is not what he appeared to be."

Owen narrowed his eyes. "So how come you… can't die? Did those Daleks do something to you?"

Jack shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. I woke up, ankle-deep in Dalek dust. Everybody was dead except me, the Daleks were gone, and the Doctor and Rose… vanished."

"It was me," came a small voice from behind them. Jack spun around.

Rose stood by the stairs, looking extremely self-conscious. She twisted the hem of her hoodie, which was stained with soot from the crash and some blood from her fall. Jack immediately jumped up and put an arm around her, leading her over to the couch. "Rose, oh my God, you gave us such a fright. How are you?"

"I'm okay, I think. For now." She looked around and spotted the Torchwood team. Jack sat down and took off his coat, placing it around her shoulders.

"This is… where I work now." He knew she'd probably not like to hear the next part. "You're in Cardiff, where the Rift is. This is Torchwood Three."

She recoiled from him immediately. "Torchwood?!"

"W-wait, just let me explain."

She held his gaze, her eyes blazing with a golden glimmer. "Do you know what Torchwood has done to me?! It's taken… everything from me. And you work for them?!" Her last words came out as a shout, and she scooted off the couch to stand wobbly by the stairs again. Jack saw that the team had come over to them now, watching the exchange warily. Anyone reacting like this might be a threat – but at the same time, she was an exhausted, not remotely threatening looking blonde girl. He could see the hesitation in everyone's eyes.

"Guys, could you… give us a moment? Rosie, it's different now, please give me a moment to explain. If… if you want to leave again, I understand. Just 5 minutes, okay?"

Rose stared at him for a second longer, before she faltered. She let out the breath she'd been holding and shook her head sadly. "Whatever, Jack. I have nowhere else to go."

That resignation nearly broke his heart. What the hell had happened to her?

Reluctantly, the others filed away, presumably to pretend to work. He led Rose to his office and closed the door, noticing that Gwen was still standing there, watching after them thoughtfully.

"Right," he began, then looked around the mess. "Drink?"

"Jack," she warned.

"All right, all right. Make yourself at home."

Rose looked around, then sat down, and he pulled up a chair next to her. "Oh God, where do we even start," he sighed.

She looked at him, and he noticed she seemed incredibly… twitchy. Like she had some kind of nervous tick, or just seemed on edge. But she didn't say anything. She just waited.

He tried to explain. "After the Battle of Canary Wharf, the old Torchwood was destroyed. The regime there was gone, nobody in charge. Effectively, this small hub is all that is left. I took over and rebuilt it. We're trying to do better this time. You and the Doctor are no longer considered enemies; we are still committed to protect the Earth from threats, but not to interfere as they did in London. I basically rebuilt it… in yours and the Doctor's honor."

Rose frowned. "You… run Torchwood now."

"Yes."

"The institute founded against alien threats."

"Yes."

"Talk about irony!"

"Hey, I'm human, you know," he pulled a face.

"Yeah, from the 51st century!" she blurted out.

For about a second longer, they stared at each other; then the tension finally broke. Rose launched herself at him, laughing in relief. He gathered her in his arms, happily hugging her to him closely, breathing her in, just revelling in the fact that she was alive.

"Oh Rose, I never thought I'd see you again! I saw the list of the missing people after the Battle of Canary Whorf, and I thought you were dead!"

At this, she just sobbed into his shoulder. "Oh Jack, I'm so glad to see you!"

For a while, he just cradled her on his lap, before she pulled back. He held her while she wiped away her tears. Finally, she scooted back to her chair, trying to regain composure. "It's so good to see a friendly face, despite…" she glanced up briefly and shook her head. "….everything."

"Rose, what the hell happened? Last time I saw you, the Doctor sent you away."

She took another deep breath. "I-I came back for him. On the Game Station." Her eyes became distant, staring past Jack. "I looked into the heart of the TARDIS, and… she took me back. I had all this… power. Remember the Bad Wolf everywhere? That was me." His eyes widened. "I left them as a message for myself, throughout time. To tell myself I could come back. I became the Bad Wolf. I… turned all the Daleks into dust. I destroyed the Emperor." Her voice was hard, but then her gaze softened. "I saved the Doctor."

Then she looked at Jack, and her eyes became infinitely gentle. "And I saved you. You were dead, and I… I'm so sorry, I didn't know what would happen!"

He scooted forward, and took her hands. "No, don't be sorry! You saved my life, why would you be sorry!"

"But you're wrong, you… can never die."

He waved it off. "Bit of a side-effect, who cares?"

She gave a small laugh, then twitched again.

"Rose, what is it? You seem… on edge."

She blinked and tried to shake it off. "It's… you. I can hardly look at you. Makes my skin crawl."

He pulled a face. "Hey, I know ears and leather was more your type, but there's no need to be rude," he chided.

She pulled a crooked smile and rubbed her arms, looking at him with a strange expression. "I… I can't help it. Everything about you is… wrong." Jack frowned. "You're… fixed, Jack. When I brought you back, I couldn't control the power… I… I brought you back forever. Now you're fixed in time and space. A fact in a universe that should always be in flux…"

He looked into her eyes and saw that faint, golden glow again. Her voice had taken on a different quality as well. "Rose… what happened to you?" he breathed. "We checked your pulse…" He put his hand on hers again. "Where's the Doctor?"

She swallowed, and brought her gaze back to reality. The gold seemed to fade. "He's gone."

"Oh God is he…" he muttered as his heart constricted.

"He's alive," she interrupted his train of thought forcefully. "We were there, at Canary Whorf. The walls between the universes were torn. He saved everyone… saved the Earth, by pulling in the Daleks and the Cybermen into the void between realities. But he was pulled in, too. He's trapped in a parallel world, Jack. Along with my mum, Mickey… my dad," she added quietly, and tears again began to spill from her eyes.

"Oh, Rose," he said and held her hands a bit tighter.

"I'm all alone," she said in a small voice. "Except for you. You're… all wrong, but you're the only one I have left in this universe."

His heart went out to her. He had seen how close the Doctor and Rose had been, and no doubt they'd grown closer still. The thought of them being separated made him mad at the universe for being so unfair.

"I need your help, Jack," she said, her voice steadier now. "I'm… I'm dying."

"What?" He looked her up and down again. "But.. you seem fine."

She sighed and ran her hands over her face, then through her hair. "After what happened, I… I wanted to do whatever it took to get the Doctor back. He can't be trapped there without the TARDIS, it's just wrong. This universe needs him."

 _So do you_ , Jack silently added.

"I needed to get away from the ruins of Torchwood, and I couldn't. I was in the TARDIS, but I was useless. But then, the TARDIS… she talked to me, Jack." She shook her head as if she still couldn't believe it herself. "She said there was a way to get him back. She… changed me, so I could fly her." She hesitated a moment, then took Jack's hand and placed it gently on her chest. The double heartbeat pounded steadily beneath his fingers, and her skin was cool to the touch. "I am like him now," she said, with a small smile.

Jack stared at her in amazement and slowly removed his hand, still feeling the phantom of her beating hearts on his skin.

"That's why I can sense you," she gestured vaguely. "What you are, I can feel it. Don't ask me how, I don't understand all of it myself. But I suddenly had all this knowledge in my mind, like, everything expanded," she gestured around her head, pulling an adorably confused face. "I could fly the TARDIS, and, and… do all these things… but…."

"What?"

"I think it's killing me. The TARDIS said she wasn't sure how dangerous this would be." She self-consciously pushed some hair behind her ear. "I feel like, sometimes I drift off, and all I can see are timelines and possibilities and, and… I feel sick, all the time. I get these headaches… but I heal really quickly, apparently, and I can smell and hear everything, and taste everything... like, did you know the Doctor used to lick things? Now I know why!" She gave a small laugh, trying to play over her fear.

"Oh God, Rose," Jack murmured. "Why did you do this? If you knew it was so dangerous?" He already knew the answer, though.

"I had to," she simply said. "I can't leave him trapped there. But I'm afraid I won't figure out what to do before it's too late."

Jack stood up in frustration and ran his hands through his hair, thinking. "But… if the TARDIS said there was a way to get him back, why can't she tell you what it is?"

"It… doesn't work like that, sadly," she said. "It's like… I can see that there is a way. I can see a possible future in which I get him back, and then I die or I don't… it's all in flux, constantly changing. I know there are probably several ways to breach the walls again, but I haven't found them yet."

Jack sighed. "I guess we have our work cut out for us, then."

A smile lit up her face. "So you'll help me?"

He grinned at her. "Impossible odds, the man you love trapped in a parallel world, two gorgeous time travellers with superpowers running against the clock? How could I resist!"

Rose laughed and jumped up, throwing her arms around him once again.


	13. New Plans

**Chapter 13 – New Plans**

 _ **First, sorry for the break: I'm on holiday right now, and the laptop I bought to continue writing on my journey is refusing to work, specifically the keyboard ('you had ONE JOB, laptop…'). Grumblegrumble. Also, I had some trouble with another account online and consequently changed my user name here. Sorry for the possible confusion, and thanks for sticking with this story! This is a bit of a filler episode, but it'll pick up again soon enough.**_

x

"Right," Jack said, clapping his hands once he'd let go of Rose. "We're gonna get some food, and then we can figure out what to do next."

"Ooh, I _am_ a bit famished," Rose mused.

They left the hub - the Torchwood team staring some more at Rose - and walked around Cardiff until they reached Jack's favourite sandwich place. Rose devoured her food and milkshake whilst Jack told her more about how he got back to the 20th rather than the 21st century, and how he got stuck with Torchwood eventually. Rose filled him in on the adventures she and the Doctor had had after he regenerated, and Jack couldn't help grinning.

"You know, the whole regeneration bit sounds a bit weird, but it certainly hasn't changed how completely crazy you are about him!"

Rose blushed and her face became wistful. "You don't know half of it…if we ever get him back, you'll see what I mean…"

Jack leaned forward and took her hand. "Not 'if', Rose. 'When'." She looked up, her sad eyes meeting his. He grinned. "Why? Is he hot?"

"Jack!" She swatted his hand, and he pulled back, hands raised innocently.

A small smile stole onto her face. "But yeah, he's kinda gorgeous," she admitted, biting her lip.

Jack laughed. "I knew it!"

"Different face," she added thoughtfully, "but, you know, still the same man. Just with really great hair," she said with feeling.

Jack took her hand again. "We'll get him back. The way I see it, the universe bloody owes you two. And you're not gonna die. If there's anyone who can think of a way to make you right again, it's the Doctor. Heck, it's his job description! He's done all sorts of things for everyone else; don't you think he'll move heaven and earth to save the woman he loves?"

Rose looked away, a painful look crossing her face. "What?" he asked.

"Well…" she began, chewing her lip. "Are you so sure about that?" Her voice was almost inaudible.

Jack's eyes went wide. "Of course I am! Have you seen the way he looks at you?"

Rose fiddled with the sleeves of her hoodie. "I don't know… sometimes, yes. But nothing ever…" She trailed off, sighing.

Jack felt his heart go out to her. For him, things were often so easy. He met people, he spent some time with them, and he was usually very open about it when he was attracted to someone... but Rose looked like she had bottled her feelings up for a while now. He frowned. "You know, I reckon he just needs a good push in the right direction. He's mad about you – and you know it," he added, raising an admonishing finger. Rose smiled. "He's just not good at… taking the first step," he offered.

Rose pulled face. "Always running..." she muttered.

"Exactly," Jack said, decisively. "So. First we save his ass. Then he saves your ass. Then you show him what he's been missing. Deal?"

Rose, he noted to his delight, blushed scarlet. "Deal," she smiled.

x

On returning to the hub, Jack called everyone together. They took the normal entrance this time, and Jack beckoned Ianto to follow them. "Time for some proper introductions," he winked. They walked down the stairs and made it through the large vault door. Somewhere above, the flapping of wings could be heard. Owen and Tosh came over from their workstations. Rose followed Jack down the steps. Suddenly, when Gwen stepped forward to meet them, Rose gasped. "Oh my god, it's _you_!" She moved up to Gwen, rather entering her personal space, and searched her face, a bemused smile on her own.

"Gwyneth!"

"Er… it's Gwen, actually," she said, carefully moving a step backwards.

Jack looked between Rose and Gwen as the rest of the team joined them, eyebrows raised in surprise. Owen mouthed ' _Gwyneth_?' at Tosh and both suppressed a grin.

"Uh, your family been living in Cardiff long?" Rose asked almost casually, still peering intently at her target.

"Yeah, we go way back," Gwen answered, looking confused.

"Right, smack bang on the Rift…" she trailed off, then suddenly capped her hands together. "Spatial genetic multiplicity! Of course!" Rose now looked at Gwen happily. "Met one of your ancestors! Lovely girl. Spitting image," she rattled on exuberantly, but then her voice grew a little wistful. "Saved the world, actually, she did…"

Before Gwen could react to this, Rose swiftly moved on to Owen. Gwen looked at Jack in utter bewilderment, who just shrugged and chuckled.

Rose shook Owen's hand. "I'm Rose, nice to meet you! Sorry for the scare earlier."

"No problem," he smiled. "Owen Harper, I'm the chief medical officer here."

"Oh, then thanks for helping me, I guess," Rose said earnestly, and Owen seemed to smile a little more. Then she drifted off for a moment and looked just past him, as if there was something shifting her gaze away. Jack saw a painful expression flit over her features briefly. He'd seen that look before. He wondered what she'd seen, what she knew. Rose tried to shake out of it, so to prevent any more awkward moments, Jack stepped forward and introduced Toshiko and Ianto. Then wasted no time. If Rose's life was in the balance, he would use the combined effort of the Torchwood team to help her. An unwilling afterthought entered his mind; given her volatile state, and her strange new affinity to time, it was probably better to not have her hang around for too long. As much as it pained him to admit it, she was probably as much a danger to everybody else as she currently was to herself.

"Okay, guys, we need your help. Briefing, now."

He led the way to the briefing room, handing out instructions. When Ianto turned to go back to the reception, he quickly shook his head and motioned him to join them. This was something where every extra help would count. In the room, Tosh pulled up the files on the Cybermen incident as he'd asked, and everybody gathered around the large conference table. Jack explained how the Londoners had accessed the void by exploiting the breach in the universes that the Daleks had first created. Ianto was very quiet, and Jack felt sorry for him – he had experienced the horror first-hand and was still mourning Lisa's tragic death. He tried to skip over the Cybermen part as quickly as possible and focussed on the nature of the void. Tosh eagerly supplied a few scientific facts here and there as she extrapolated from the data. Suddenly, she gasped. "But… what the Daleks did must have permanently damaged the barrier. The void energy, according to these readings here, looks to be similar to that in the Rift. If this is the case, then the Torchwood team tore open the breach further, weakening it every time they let the 'ghosts' through."

Rose's face darkened. "They didn't care about that," she muttered into space.

"But then… you can see here that the constant strain already tore the cohesion to a point where it would unravel by itself! How did they stop the walls from collapsing completely?"

"In other words," Owen added from across the table, "how are we still sitting here?"

"The Doctor," Rose simply said and finally tore her eyes away from studying the table's woodgrain. "He found a way to pull all the Cybermen and the Daleks back into the void, using the breach like a magnet." She pushed some hair behind her ear. "Through the force, the breach then sealed itself. The walls are closed." She swallowed.

Jack quickly took over. "Unfortunately, the Doctor was trapped on the other side of the void. In a parallel universe. This is where we come in."

He looked at his team with a steady gaze. "We're going to get him back. The Doctor has saved this planet more than we can count, and it was Torchwood's fault that he got trapped. I believe it's our duty to help him get back."

Gwen's eyes moved over to Rose and Jack could see her silent conflict. A blind man would realise how heartbroken she was, and that getting him back was a little more than just 'duty' to her. Nevertheless, Gwen was also a Torchwood agent, and thought first and foremost of the safety of their own world. "I agree that we should help," she began gently, looking at Rose. "But… if we try to breach this barrier between the universes… how do we make sure we don't destroy it again?"

Jack's eyes flittered to Rose, who looked like she couldn't care less this time round, but before she could utter any such dark thoughts, he turned to Gwen. "That is exactly the question we are going to investigate. I have seen many crazy things in this universe, and if the Doctor has taught me one thing, it's that there is always a way." His eyes rested on Rose as well as he debated how much to tell the others. Maybe he shouldn't tell them too much about her strange new powers. One thing at a time. "We… know for a fact that there are several possibilities," he finally said. "We just need to figure out what they are, and which way is the safest."

Rose glanced his way, and had picked up on what he was doing. She sat up straighter and spoke up again. "The Time Lords used to be able to travel between parallel worlds pretty easily, according to what the Doctor told me. That means, the technology is not the problem, we just need to know how to use it."

Jack nodded and clapped his hands together. "Right, time is of the essence, so let's go. Tosh, you and Owen take another look at the scientific side of this. Check the medical records of former employees at Torchwood 1, see what tech they used to control the breach… it's all in the computer, just dig up anything that might help us. Gwen, Ianto, you're coming with us." He stood up, and the team followed suit. "We're taking the more traditional approach."

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked as they all filed out of the room.

"The library," Jack winked.

x

Rose drew her key from around her neck and slowly unlocked the TARDIS. She stepped inside, leading the way for Jack, who followed with a spring in his step and threw his coat over a railing. He took a deep breath. This felt like coming home, somehow – even though he'd only spent a relatively short time on the ship. He looked around the console room and finally took in all the differences. The central platform seemed to be made out of some smooth, wooden material now. Ramps snaked away from it to several corridors high and low, and down beneath the console. The large coral structure remained, yet was complemented by a narrow walkway that seemed to be littered with things. The console snaked upwards, a little bit reminiscent of a plant, and he saw intricate roses moulded into the three narrow pillars around the platform. A warm light filled the cavernous room, and a leafy smell lingered in the air. When Jack looked up, he thought he detected the rustle of a canopy above. Despite a certain mess after the crash, it looked beautiful.

"Wow, at least if you're going out, you're going out in style!" He raised his eyebrows at Rose, who was busying herself at the console. "Nicely redecorated!" He fondly stroked a hand over a smooth wooden pillar. "Good to see you again, girl," he added gently.

Rose looked up and smirked. "She says, 'stop it'," she translated. "But yeah, she always likes showing off a bit, doesn't she?" The TARDIS gave a short bright hum around them and they laughed. Grown spaceship she may be, but she was a lady, he thought amusedly to himself.

Rose looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "She still has a hard time… well, let's just say she must like you a lot, otherwise she'd be trying to fly away from you as fast as she could. It was hard enough getting here. You saw what happened."

"Wait, you crashed because of _me_?" He stared at her, eyebrows raised.

Rose shrugged. "She was a bit… reluctant."

Suddenly, a voice came from the door. "Are you talking about the… ship?" Gwen stood on the ramp, gesturing vaguely around the room. Disbelief was etched on her face, and she was gaping in amazement at the impossible, bigger-on-the-inside structure. At the same time, Ianto was poking his head inside the door, only to disappear again, and then to reappear with an incredulous stare. His mouth had gone slack but he remained silent, just staring at everything. Jack thought he looked rather adorable.

"Sentient ship," Rose explained to Gwen. "Make yourselves at home," she said, only to stop herself in her movement to add, "although, stay away from locked doors. And the second corridor on the left. Also, the kitchen sometimes acts up and disappears." Jack was grinning as Rose scrunched up her face in thought before turning to Gwen and Ianto again. "Actually, just stick with me, and you should be all right."

Ianto now looked positively afraid to touch anything, while Gwen took a deep breath and stepped over to Jack boldly. "And you've been around in this thing…?"

"All over Time and Space, yep. They saved my life with the TARDIS, actually. Parked her right inside my own ship when it was about to blow." He smiled at Rose, who'd looked up and caught his gaze.

"We danced," she said gently.

" _They_ danced, _I_ was forbidden to cut in," he said with a meaningful look at Gwen, who managed a small smile at their antics.

"Okay, we're all set," Rose declared. "She's still recalibrating from the shock of Mr. Impossible here and our little crash, and she's recharging on Rift energy. We'll be fine in the library."

Without further ado, she walked down a corridor, and Jack motioned his amazed team to follow. Once again, he felt a fond warmth at the thought that he was finally able to share this with them. Even if – no, _when_ , he corrected himself – the Doctor and Rose would travel on without him, he could be more open with the Torchwood team, hopefully leading to a renewed trust between them all.

They followed Rose down a few corridors to a set of large, wooden double doors. They opened up into an enormous, dimly lit library. Everything was as Jack remembered it, and he guessed it hadn't changed in centuries. The walls and inlaid shelves were panelled mahogany, going all the way to the vaulted ceiling. From a large central space – which incorporated a lit, crackling fireplace – several winding staircases led to the ongoing galleries of books above them. An arrangement of comfortable leather couches stood around a coffee table strewn with books and papers.

As Jack moved closer, he saw several pages of handwritten notes – the papers were covered in a strange, circular patterns. He recognized them from the console room monitors and finally made the connection. "Did you make these?" He held one out to Rose.

Rose slowly cleared away some books and put them to the side in piles, then picked up the sheet from him. "Yeah. It's Gallifreyan," she added, sounding somewhat sheepish. "I found it to be faster than English writing." She pushed some hair behind her ear and continued gathering the notes up. "It's a bit like shorthand, really… Sorry, I was basically here as much as I could, trying to gather some information on what I could do... so it's all a bit of a mess."

Jack was once again amazed at the change that had come over her. From the carefree Estate girl he'd known, from the cheeky levity they'd shared, she'd gone to become an alien and a scholar, things she clearly felt very uncomfortable with, but used it all as a means to get the Doctor back. She seemed very aware that she might be freaking them out, so he sought to reassure her. "Hey, just leave it, and we'll pick up right where you left off, yeah?"

Gwen sauntered over to the shelves. "This is amazing… so many books from all over the universe…" She trailed her hand over the book spines, then paused. "Hang on a minute! These are all in English! _The Sunlight Worlds_ , _Anatomy of the Ood_ , _Draconian Fauna_ …" she read out the titles and turned to Rose. "Why aren't they in that swirly language of yours?"

Rose walked over to her and peered at the books, then just shrugged. "They are. Except that one, I think that's a Draconian original." She gestured at the room. "It's the TARDIS. She translates all languages in your head and turns everything you read into your language."

"In my head?!" Gwen stared at her.

Rose smiled a little. "My exact reaction when I first heard that. It's nothing to worry about though. It's not messing with your brain or anything… just imagine it like you have… the right kind of glasses on?"

Gwen peered at the books again, shaking her head slightly. "All right…"

Ianto had been examining the shelves on the other side of the room, and had to raise his voice slightly. "What exactly are we looking for?"

Jack grabbed hold of one of the railings and quickly made his way up to the first gallery level. He glanced back down at Ianto. "Anything that suggests parallel worlds and their barriers, the void, and anything about travelling to other universes."

Rose had picked another shelf to start from now. "Also be on the lookout for Artron Energy, Huon particles, and any mention of the time vortex," Rose called out to them.

Jack frowned. That certainly didn't sound like it was directly related, but he decided not to ask.

x

A few hours later, Jack dropped another book on a pile she'd labelled 'useless' and flopped down on the couch. They'd gone through tons of strange, alien writings; most of them so weirdly phrased that not even the translation into English made any sense. He sent a commiserating glance over to Rose, who was slamming shut another large volume.

She made an annoyed sound in her throat. "All of these are more or less history books," she sighed. "Once upon a time, this or that species may have possibly experimented with this and that parallel universe, blah blah, super dangerous, blah." She wiped a hand down her face. "How about an instruction manual, and not in the past tense, that would be something," she said.

"Actually," Ianto piped up, and everybody looked over to him, hidden behind another pile of books. "I may have found you one."

Rose, Jack and Gwen jumped up and crowded around Ianto. He held a large, atlas-like volume bound in black leather with dark blue pages. The writing was in white, and every page contained several small drawings that looked like schematics. "It's called _Transdimensional Bond Theory_ ," he read out, and cleared his throat. "From what I've read so far, this has some ideas how to connect different dimensions. Maybe it'll work on your parallel world?"

"Ianto, you are a genius," Rose beamed and gently took the giant book from him. She flipped through the pages rather quicker than a normal human would, but to Jack it seemed like she was taking it all in nonetheless. Suddenly, she became excited.

"Oh my God, this could actually work. Gwen, you had a book earlier about TARDISes, could you dig that out again? Jack, find that kid's book that explained how sonic screwdrivers worked, yeah?"

Jack grinned and searched for the square, brightly coloured book again. It had touched him to see something that had obviously been written for Gallifreyan children, explaining how sonic devices worked in simple terms. He could just imagine the Doctor as a little kid being fascinated by the things.

Gwen carried over another volume to Rose. "Here, got it."

"Brilliant," Rose said with feeling as Gwen sat down on the carpet next to her. "Find the chapter on the Eye of Harmony."

Gwen began flipping the pages, and Jack opened the small book in his hands. "Sonic screwdrivers are one of the most basic tools invented on Gallifrey. They are highly versatile, and can be used for a large variety of applications," he read out in a soft, sing-song voice that made Gwen send him an amused grin.

Rose looked up, smiling as well. "Flip to the part about its energy signature."

Jack searched for the right page. "Here we are… ah, I see what you mean. 'Every sonic screwdriver has its own unique energy signature.' Let me guess, you want to use that to home in on the Doctor?"

Rose nodded. "It's the only thing I can think of apart from him that we could use to… you know, use as an anchor in the other world," she said.

Gwen let out a little triumphant cheer. "Found it! 'The Eye of Harmony'. Ooh, long chapter, what do you need to know?"

Rose leaned over and skimmed the page. "That's it there," she pointed. She looked up at Gwen. "The Eye of Harmony is an… an exploding star," she gestured a bit self-consciously, the words sounding odd coming from her instead of the Doctor. "It's been suspended in time, just at the moment where it would turn into a black hole – and that's what powers the TARDIS, essentially," she finished, and pushed some hair behind her ear.

Gwen's eyes went wide. "There's an exploding star…. In this ship?"

"Oh it's quite safe! And the ship is so big, I haven't even seen it yet, the Doctor just told me about it once." She pointed at the book again. "Anyway, it says here that the Eye on every TARDIS is just a… a duplicate or a piece of the original Eye on Gallifrey… only…" she trailed off.

"Only there's only this one left now," Jack added. "So how will that help?"

"Well," Rose began slowly, running her finger down the page in Gwen's book. "The Eye has a specific energy signature, so that it wouldn't accidentally cause a temporal schism should it come into contact with other TARDISes. So you could tell them apart, basically," she said.

Gwen caught on. "So the energy signature in that screwdriver…?"

Rose smiled. "Exactly. He got the sonic from the TARDIS, so the energy signature between them should match. Maybe. I hope."

"And then what?" Jack asked.

Rose pointed at the large, dark pages in front of her. "This is the key," she said, the excitement in her voice now evident. "The, uh, 'Transdimensional Bond' this bloke describes, if I get this correctly, is basically a bridge. It finds two objects, usually the same object in different dimensions, or things that are related, and bonds them." She ran her finger down the page. "It sounds quite experimental and the guy treats it a bit like magic, but I think it might be worth a shot."

Ianto joined them and sat down on the other side of Rose. "So what happens once the objects are bonded?"

Rose flipped the page and pointed to an illustration. "According to this, the bond is created by accessing the time vortex – something the TARDIS can do – and basically, with these calculations, latching on to the objects and creating a bridge between them, allowing someone to use the bond to travel along the bridge."

Gwen glanced over the illustration. "So how would that not tear the walls between the universes?"

"Uh, well," Rose began, flipping another page. "The theory is, that the bond would not _breach_ the walls so much as it would make them _non-existent_. The bond would create a connection between the walls to make the objects believe they're in the same universe, or something."

"In theory?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

Rose sighed. "I checked the front of the book. It was written at a time when the Time Lords had the 'best' method of travelling between parallel worlds, so no other way was needed. I'm pretty sure this guy was laughed at for even researching his theory. So it's not exactly tested and approved, 'cause there was no need."

Jack put the children's book down and sat down with a sigh. "Well, after a few hours of searching, this is the best theory we've got so far. How about we try it, and if anything goes wrong, we abort and try something else?"

Rose pulled a face. "Yeah, we can't just wing it, I'm afraid. That's the only problem. The bond requires a huge energy surge to get it going."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say you had an _exploding star_ around here somewhere?"

Rose smiled ruefully. "Yeah, but because it's the TARDIS itself we use as part of the bond, I think the energy needs to come from the outside. Like, we'd need a lightning bolt or something ridiculous like that."

Jack smiled. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard to come by, right?"

"I guess. We might have to monitor the weather a bit and see where we could fly her to make this work," Rose said slowly.

"What about on the Doctor's end? Would he need a lightning bolt, too?"

"I think, 'cause we'd been the ones initiating the bond, he would only be our anchor." Rose sighed in frustration and put the giant book aside. She flopped with her back against the couch. "I know this sounds like a lot of 'if's and 'maybe's, but honestly, it's the best we got so far."

Jack clapped his hands together and smiled. "Well! I'd say we deserve a break after this breakthrough!"

Rose glanced at the books around her. "You guys go ahead, I'll just…"

"Oh no, don't you start, missy, we're getting food and drinks and you're coming with us. Ianto: pizza! Gwen: wine! The good one from the vault. Let's go people!"

He gathered up a weakly protesting Rose and led his team out of the TARDIS. Rose shot him pleading looks, and when Gwen and Ianto were out of earshot, she held him back. "Jack, I can't take a break. I'm running out of time."

He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Rose, we've been searching for hours. You need a break. You still look weak from whatever hell you've been through, and I'm making sure you don't drop from exhaustion long before that vortex energy can get to you. Okay?"

His voice was gentle, but serious. "Okay," Rose muttered meekly. She looked incredibly tired, and Jack pulled her in a quick hug. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He slowly rubbed soothing circles on her back. "We've got a plan now, right? We'll set up a weather monitor and have our pizza, so if anything comes up, we'll know immediately."

Rose nodded and pulled away, and arm in arm they walked back to the hub.

X

Soon enough, the Torchwood team and Rose were gathered in a small circle of couch and chairs in the hub, with half-empty pizza boxes strewn between them, and the second bottle of Apalapucian Purple. The atmosphere was loose and relaxed, and Jack enjoyed seeing Rose make friends. She was leaning back on the sofa, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders, telling a wild story where she and the Doctor had met an alien they called the Abzorbaloff. Jack noted the wild gasps, cheers and laughter from everyone were a far shot from the initially fearful reactions of his team. Especially Owen seemed to be hanging on Rose's every word.

After another fit of giggles had subsided, Gwen leaned forward and narrowed her eyes with a smile. "So… you said you'd met my ancestor once? What was she like?"

Rose finished another slice of pizza and looked up with a wistful smile. "Oh, she was amazing. There we were, in Cardiff at Christmas; and suddenly there were ghosts and Charles Dickens, and I was kidnapped, and we had no clue," she laughed.

"Hang on, did you just say _Charles Dickens_?" Tosh piped up.

"Oh yeah, brilliant man! Got some ideas that night, I think," she grinned.

"So… who was she?"

Rose looked at Gwen, sobering a little. "Gwyneth was the serving girl at a funeral home," she began. At the mention of her name, Owen and Tosh broke out in fits of giggles once again.

Gwen punched Owen in the arm. "Oi! It was like 150 years ago, I don't wanna know what your ancestors were called! Probably Fitzgerald or something," she pouted and grabbed her glass.

Rose raised hers as well. "Yeah, you leave her alone, she saved the world!"

"There, you hear?" Gwen cried.

Owen grinned. "Whatever you say, _Gwyneth_ ," he muttered, and Tosh nearly choked on her pizza.

Rose then launched into the story of the ghosts in Cardiff, and Jack leaned back, sipping on his wine, enjoying the happy atmosphere.

It was quite late when something finally went wrong. Ianto had basically fallen asleep, Tosh had already excused herself, and it was only him, Owen and Gwen trading stories; Jack was so engrossed that he didn't notice Rose drifting off and becoming quiet. Owen had tried (and failed) to flirt with her all evening, and was now trying to rope her back into the conversation. He said something casual and touched her arm, when Rose suddenly became stiff at his touch. She gasped and sucked in a sharp breath. Jack was instantly on alert, fear cutting through the slight tipsiness. He stared at Rose, whose eyes seemed to glaze over with a golden sheen.

She stared at Owen, who hastily removed his hand. Her face became puzzled, then infinitely sad. "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice sounding strangely detached.

"W-what for?" Owen asked, clearly spooked now.

Rose reached out and stroked her hand just over his cheek. Jack saw him shiver, and felt something ripple through the air. "I am so sorry," Rose repeated. "You will die twice." Her face became confused again, as if that statement meant just as little to her as to everyone else.

Owen's eyes had gone wide. Rose's eyes fluttered closed and her hand went to her head. She sank down and Owen just managed to hold her up right when she was about to fall. Jack quickly jumped up and came over to sit next to her, holding her steady. Owen immediately let go of her as if he'd been burnt. Gwen stared at them with wide-eyed shock.

Rose mumbled something beneath her breath, leaning in to Jack. "So tired," he heard, and he lowered her down to lie on the couch. He got up, raised her legs to lie comfortably, and grabbed a nearby blanket to drape over her protectively.

Owen and Gwen had been quiet during all of this, but now Gwen piped up silently. "Jack…?"

Jack waved her off. "She… just needs to rest. Long day," he muttered. "We should go. Ianto, come on, wake up…" he softly touched his shoulder to rouse him. Ianto shook himself awake and blinked.

"Party's over," Owen said coldly, nearly choking on the words. He grabbed his jacket and left abruptly. Ianto frowned, but when he looked at Jack in question, he only shook his head. He didn't want to have to explain this. He didn't even know how he could. Ianto lowered his head sadly and turned away to leave the hub as well. Jack turned off the small light by the couch and stepped away, noticing that Gwen was still lingering.

"Do you think it's true? What she said?" she asked quietly.

Jack rubbed a hand over his face as they both stood there, watching Rose sleeping. She looked so frail, yet she was now possessing a power beyond any of them. Jack had no doubt that Rose had seen Owen's future, no matter how little sense it made at this moment.

"I… I don't know, Gwen… She has changed, and I don't know exactly how or what that means now. But," his voice became steadier. "I know she's still Rose, no matter what." He gazed at Rose, sighing softly.

Gwen looked at him for a long while. "You love her," she stated quietly.

Jack smiled, his eyes not leaving her sleeping form. "Yes," he said softly. When Gwen took a deep breath next to him, crossing her arms, he turned to her. "Not like… _that_ ," he added quickly. "She and the Doctor belong together, Gwen. I've never met anyone like them, and I likely never will again."

Gwen smiled. "Judging from her, he must really be something," she said.

"One of a kind," Jack said wistfully. He put an arm around her and together they left the strange, new Rose to sleep in peace.


	14. Tinker, Tyler, Doctor, Spy

**Chapter 14 – Tinker, Tyler, Doctor, Spy**

 **Finally, I've sorted all PC problems, adjusted to a new job and finished writing this (incredibly long) chapter! Sorry for mistakes – I'll give this whole story a proper edit afterwards, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer ;-)**

x

After the incident with Rose's strange premonition, the Torchwood team seemed to have decided to give her a bit of space. Everyone was friendly, even Owen, though he had cooled down considerably; but the jolly atmosphere from the night before remained elusive. Jack and Rose mostly kept themselves cooped up in the TARDIS, researching more about the transdimensional bond and how to achieve it. Gwen showed up in the afternoon to help, but the others remained in the hub to do what Jack had told them.

The work was slow-going; after the initial idea, there seemed to be no end of questions that needed answering before they could attempt to test their theory. Jack told Rose that he was glad she had a few days of forced rest; however, even he noted that it didn't seem to do her much good. She was going slightly crazy with their slow progress, and the fact that everyone seemed to be on edge around her didn't help. He noticed that sometimes, when she was working on something or just staring off into the distance, her eyes began to glow golden again. She didn't seem to really sleep at all, and began muttering under her breath more and more.

Toshiko and Owen had not found any medical records that helped, but discovered a string of numbers in the old Torchwood's databanks that had been cropping up again and again during the Cybermen incident. Rose had been pouring over them for 48 hours straight before she figured out that they coincided with a certain phase variance that identified the 'correct' parallel universe. But even this small achievement did not improve matters.

Four days after Rose's crash landing, Tosh's global weather alert finally went off. They had deliberately set it so that it would only pick up budding storms that promised to become strong enough to test their theory; but when the alarm came, the projected intensity seemed completely off the chart.

Everyone filed behind the Torchwood computers with Toshiko, who was frantically trying to ascertain where the sudden lightning storm was building up from. Rose hastened up the stairs and to her side. "Is it a storm? A proper one?"

Everyone made room for her to look at the screen. "It would seem so," Toshiko began slowly, still analysing the data. "I'm just not sure it's a natural one. Look at this."

"London?" Rose asked incredulously, rolling her eyes at the map on the monitor. "Why is everything always happening in London?!"

"And Cardiff," Jack chuckled. "Tosh's right though, this doesn't look like a normal storm."

"There's no previous build-up of cumulonimbus energy traceable, the wind speeds have been normal, and the weather forecast for today is sunny," Tosh explained, shaking her head in disbelief.

Jack leaned in closer. "This isn't all of London, though. Look, it's confined to one specific area. What's here?" He pointed.

Tosh zoomed in. "The Royal Hope Hospital," she said.

Rose was looking thoughtfully at the screen, chewing her lip. Jack nudged her with his shoulder. "An unnatural build-up of electrical energy, a storm when there should be blue skies – sounds like something the Doctor would check out, right?"

Rose merely gave a non-committed hum and sighed.

"Come on," he teased. "It's exactly what we need, and we could figure out what's going on there at the same time!"

She looked up. "Jack, we really can't afford to get into any trouble right now," she said quietly. "And you know this looks like exactly the kind of trouble that usually finds us."

"Yeah, I know, but… hey, what about, we go there, soak up the possible energy with the TARDIS, prevent whatever is currently trying to happen, and _boom_ , killed two birds with one stone?"

Rose rocked from one foot to the other and glanced around the team. Everyone was watching the exchange, and Gwen was giving Jack worried looks.

Finally, Rose nodded. "Oh, all right, it's probably our best chance right now… but if there's a bunch of bloody aliens making thunderstorms in London, I'll kill you!"

"Been there, done that," Jack grinned and earned himself a punch in the arm.

x

About an hour later, Rose had gathered a few things together and was ready to depart when Jack was still carrying odd bits of technical equipment into the TARDIS, barking out instructions to the Torchwood team. On his last trip, he was carrying a rucksack and hurried up to the TARDIS, Gwen almost jogging to keep up with him.

"And if the Weevils act up, keep them away from Owen. And make sure you don't just eat pizza all the time. There's that lovely Indian place, go check that out, and…"

Gwen was noticeably rolling her eyes at him now. "Jack!"

Rose leaned casually in the doors of the TARDIS. She was wearing a dark pink jumper and her hair was falling down to her shoulders. She grinned, and suddenly looked to Jack as if nothing had changed. "All right, Dad?" she asked, and flashed him her best tongue-in-teeth grin. "Did you pack them lunches for every day as well?"

"Don't you start," he said.

"We'll be fine," Gwen emphasised. "You're the one going away in the time machine!" She glanced at Rose and raised an eyebrow. "And you better bring him back in one piece, and, you know, not like 50 years too late or something!"

"Yes ma'am!" Rose smiled, but when she saw Gwen's look, she stepped out of the TARDIS and up to her. "Look, I may have been a bit strange these past days, but I just wanted to say thank you for helping me out. It means a lot."

Gwen nodded.

"And I promise, I will do anything I can to make sure he's safe," she added a bit quieter, as Jack went into the TARDIS to drop of his pack. Gwen frowned a little sadly, and Rose pulled her into a quick hug. "You'll be fine," she whispered.

Gwen seemed heartened by this and smiled at Rose, genuinely this time. She sighed and nodded once more, then left.

Rose turned around, and went into the blue box, closing the doors behind her.

Jack stepped out of a corridor, grinning. He signed with his thumb over his shoulder. "She even gave me my own room, just 'round the corner here!"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Wow, she really got over the whole _fixed point in time_ thing really quickly, didn't she?" she said with an admonishing glare at the time rotor. She felt an encouraging hum at the back of her mind.

"I think she likes me," Jack quipped and hopped on the jump seat.

"I think she likes _the plan_ ," Rose corrected but sent him a grin whilst she put in the coordinates for _London, UK, Earth, current time_. She felt excitement gripping her once more. Finally they could get going and _do something_. All of this sitting around and waiting hadn't helped with her general jittery feelings of worry.

"All right, we're ready to go," she said happily and looked over to Jack, hand on the last lever.

He was eyeing her curiously. "It's so strange seeing you… doing these things," he began vaguely.

Rose let go of the lever and self-consciously pushed some hair behind her ear. "Like what?" she said. She knew exactly what he meant.

"I don't know, like, getting the TARDIS ready like this? Discussing the bond theory? Everything," he said, gesturing towards her. "You're amazing, Rose."

"No I'm not," she said quietly. "It's just the TARDIS putting thoughts into my brain, really. Without her, I'd be completely useless."

Jack got up and walked over to her. "No, you're not. You're coping really well, all things considered."

Rose let go of the lever and turned, leaning against the console. "It doesn't feel like that at all. It feels like a huge mess in my head. Like something in there is doing all these things, but it's not really _me_."

"Rose," Jack began and put a hand on her shoulder. "I've been meaning to ask…" She looked up at him with big eyes and he suddenly shivered. "What you said about Owen…"

Rose quickly looked away, pain in her eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked flatly.

"You said he would die twice." He paused, seeing that she needed some time to stop pretending that she didn't remember. "How can you... see the future like that?"

Rose sighed and pushed herself off the console. She walked around the room, trailing her hand over the pillars. "I don't know, really," she began. "It's like… I look at someone, and they're just there, just them, nothing else. And then suddenly, there's this switch, and I feel all warm… and I can see all of it." She looked back at Jack. "All of the possibilities, stretching out, like some kind of light that's broken, you know, like through a dusty window. You get all of these possible futures sort of clouding around the person…" she swallowed.

"And Owen?"

"There were… less possibilities. All I could see was that… it ends soon. It's very hard to describe anything definite…" she struggled.

"It's okay," Jack said quickly. "I can imagine." He wiped a hand over his face, thinking of the possible actions that would lead to this future. The resurrection gauntlet…

Rose came around the console from the other side. "D'you think I'm weird now?" she asked quietly.

"What?" Jack asked, startled from his dark thoughts. "Oh! Rosie," he exclaimed, quickly pulling her into a hug. "We're both weird, you and I, and I would never think anything less of you for it!" he said a little over-dramatically and kissed her hair. She giggled into his chest.

"All right then, weirdo, all set for London?"

"Aye, Captain," he saluted, letting go of her.

Rose grabbed the lever. "I'm really glad to have you on board," she said and smiled as she pulled it.

x

Two hours, and a few arguments later, a plan was formed. They'd parked the TARDIS in an unassuming storage closet inside the Royal Hope Hospital, and began their scans. The ship's computers all confirmed that there were strange plasma coils building up around the hospital, although so far, they hadn't found an explanation for them. Jack had suggested, several times, that either of them check in as a patient in order to infiltrate the building. Rose, however, had firmly maintained that both of them were physically too altered to risk it. If anyone got it into their head to analyse Jack's blood or even so much as listened to Rose's heartbeats at the moment, she didn't dare think of what might happen. Torchwood London may be gone, Rose thought, but there was no knowing what a number other strange institutions would like to do with two 'freaks' like them.

So they'd stayed out of sight behind a plastic tarpaulin set up for seemingly forgotten extension works in a closet, and scanned and scrutinised every inch of the building.

"So there's a slow, but steady, build-up of electricity," Jack said, flopping down on the pilot seat, completely exasperated. "Every scan confirms what we already knew!"

Rose held on to the console, pouring over the readings. He was right and she knew it. They'd have to go and actually talk to people to find out what was going on. And before they knew what they were dealing with, she was reluctant to wire the TARDIS up in the middle of it.

She closed her eyes. "Fine." Jack whooped and hopped off the jump seat. "Do you wanna come, or can I…"

"No, you go do your… thing, and I'll finish setting up everything else."

"Gotcha!" he said and enthusiastically bounded off into the corridor towards the wardrobe room.

A few minutes later, Jack emerged again, and Rose had to laugh. He was dressed in a perfect Doctor's outfit, complete with stethoscope, name tag and even a clipboard.

He gave a little twirl. "Right? Right!" He grinned.

"Have fun," Rose smirked back. "And if I hear any complaints about _Dr. Harkness_ coming on to the nurses, I'll report you!" she called after him as he went down the ramp.

"Oh, you're no fun!" he cried and left the TARDIS, laughing.

Rose shook her head as she looked after him. Suddenly, a stab hit her in her side. Her heartbeats increased, and she felt as if she'd been running. She wobbled over to the seat and slowly sat down, trying to calm her breathing. A headache began forming behind her forehead. The strain was growing. She knew she didn't have long.

She took a deep breath and balled her fists, gathering her strength. She knew subconsciously she was using some kind of ancient technique to subdue the negative effects on her body, to keep going and deal with it later. She didn't really want to think about how she knew this, or how it worked; but all that mattered to her right now was that it did. She went back to the console and fixed the last pieces of the transdimensional bond. The energy signature of both the TARDIS and the sonic were programmed, she had set it to the right frequency, and the theory behind it seemed sound; at least as far as the strange, new parts of her brain were concerned. She flicked another switch to open the receptors in the TARDIS. This was how they'd soaked up the rift energy, and if all things went well, it should soak up any other excess energy around them as well. As soon as a certain level was reached, the transdimensional bond would activate and form a portal.

At least, so she hoped. She sat down on the pilot seat and continued to monitor the scans. If all went well, she would see the Doctor again soon; her hearts gave a nervous flutter. Now all she had to do was wait.

x

Martha Jones, medical student at the Royal Hope Hospital, had decided that today was not her day. She had had several very unsatisfying phone calls with various family members about her brother's birthday party, she'd dropped a sample in the lab, and Dr. Stoker had berated her on their rounds for not immediately asking about Mrs. Finnegan's diet when confronted with her salt deficiency. She was now stuck sorting through the remaining files at the reception desk, trying to figure out which were the most urgent.

However, her day suddenly took a turn for the glorious, in the form of Dr. Jack Harkness, visiting fellow from a prestigious US hospital. She first gaped at the highly sophisticated credentials in a curiously simple leather wallet, then at the unapologetically gorgeous face that accompanied them. She vaguely wondered why the hell the ID card needed to state that he was unmarried, but was distracted instantly when he leaned forward over the counter.

"Dr. Jack Harkness, John Hopkins Hospital, how're you doing?" He flashed her a toothy grin.

At first, she managed only a sound approximating a "guh", then collected herself. "Martha Jones, medical student," she almost stuttered.

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones! Been at this hospital long?"

"I, uh... I'm just a few months into my practical year…"

"Studying hard, I imagine," he said, sounding serious, but… had he just winked?

"Yes, well," she rallied a little, "the studying part is mostly over, now it's seeing how quickly you can actually murder a patient before any of the senior doctors see you," she muttered with a smirk under her breath. Dr. Harkness flashed her an even wider grin and laughed quietly, as she clamped a hand over her mouth, realising what she'd said. "Sorry, I… you're… I… sorry," she sputtered.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," he replied teasingly. God in heavens, what was wrong with this man? Had he just stepped out of a hospital sitcom?

 _Okay, Martha, stay cool._ "So, Dr. Harkness," she began, and he seemed to chuckle slightly at that, "I've never seen you around here before – have you just arrived?"

"You could say that," he said vaguely. "I'd like to think of myself as a bit of a traveller."

"I bet that's exciting," Martha said, before she could think about it. "I mean, you could learn so much from looking at how different people all over the world deal with diseases."

He was about to reply, still leaning over the counter on both arms, smiling at her when she reached over to take another medical clipboard from the pile and got a small electrical shock. She pulled her hand back and uttered a small cry, frowning at the clipboard.

Dr. Harkness' face immediately clouded over. "….that happen a lot today?"

Martha held her hand and looked at him in surprise. "Yes, actually," she said. "Sally got hit by the coffee machine, Oliver in the locker room, Dr. Stoker at the door…"

"Happened to me, too," he said, still that curious look on his face. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in a bit closer. "Martha – can I call you Martha? – have you seen anything else that was a bit strange today? Any unusual people or… odd occurrences?"

She blushed a little at his sudden proximity. "Uh, I don't think so, but…" she should really recommend him to another doctor, a superior or something, but sod it. "No, I'm sorry – _why_? Is there something going on?" she leaned in a bit closer herself now. If he was gonna blatantly flirt with her, she could just as well make the most of it. Unmarried, indeed.

He grinned a little at her response, as if he could read her mind. "Well, we've been monitoring this hospital and…" suddenly a little monitor on his wrist began beeping. So far, she hadn't noticed it, and only now that it started blinking did she realise that it didn't look like the device all the other doctors had. In fact, it didn't look like a beeper at all.

"Ugh, excuse me a moment," he said and rolled his eyes. He turned around and looked around, walking away to a windowed alcove a few steps. It seemed he wanted to go unnoticed – but Martha felt he wasn't really doing a good job at that. He pressed a button on his wrist and urgently answered the call in a hushed voice.

"Yes, what is it?"

Martha couldn't quite make out the voice on the other end, but thought it was a woman. She strained her ears. "…started… too quickly to scan… "

"What do you mean?"

"…out the window."

The doctor looked out of the window. Martha found herself leaving her stack of patient clipboards behind, stepping around the reception desk, toward the alcove. Something was odd, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Suddenly, Dr. Harkness gasped, lowering his wrist. "The rain," he murmured.

Rain covered the window. It had been raining for a while. This wasn't anything special… Martha's thoughts trailed off as she placed a hand on the window pane, stunned.

"It's going _upwards_?"

Dr. Harkness looked around at her quickly, a worried frown on his face.

The insistent voice (indeed a woman's) from his beeper returned. "Jack, get back here, _now_." She sounded extremely worried. Suddenly, everything shook. Martha tumbled forward, her world going completely haywire. Carts crashed, people screamed; she vaguely saw all her stacked patient clipboards tumble down the desk. Martha tried to shield her head from falling objects all around her, when suddenly, a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her sideways. A second later, the receptionist's heavy office chair wheeled crashing into the window – where her head had just been.

The shaking finally stopped. She heard screams and a few more isolated crashes down the hallway; all the lights flickered, then everything was silent for a second.

Just as she noticed that she was still being held by that strange new doctor, and that it was not an altogether unpleasant experience, the noises everywhere piped up again. Patients crying out for help, people helping others to their feet; Dr. Harkness gently pulled her upright again – and grinned, his face mere inches away. "We'll continue this later," he winked, and then he was gone, dashing off towards the staircase.

Martha blinked a few times before her brain finally caught up with her eyes, and she stared at the broken window.

They were on the moon.

x

Rose was furiously checking her scans, running around the console, which had gone a bit haywire. The moon. The bloody hospital had to go get itself transported to the bloody moon. And of course, being Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS, she was smack in the middle of this newest crisis.

The door flew open, and Jack quickly ran up the ramp. "We're on the moon!"

"I know," she said, letting her words drip ice.

"The whole hospital!"

" _I know._ "

"Hah! How is that even a _thing_?!" Jack laughed, sounding thoroughly exited.

Rose turned to him fully and put on her sweetest innocent voice. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it was the bloody ALIENS of the planet I TOLD YOU SO!?" her voice rose steadily as she poked him sharply in the chest with each syllable.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jack held up both his hands. "Let's… let's focus on the solution, not the problem here, all right?"

Rose, still fuming, continued working the console, but to no avail. "What's wrong?" Jack asked, and at her raised eyebrow added "besides being on the moon" under his breath.

Rose sighed and slapped the console in frustration. "I have no idea. I first thought the transdimension thingy might have worked – the energy, or whatever it was, that got us to the moon certainly did _something_. Something _wrong_ , though… she won't respond and I can't get the scanners to work."

"Well, we're still in this universe – that much is certain."

"But why doesn't it activate the bond?" Rose stared at the time rotor in frustration. She'd re-checked all her calculations, and as far as she could tell, it was all good to go. Maybe the type of energy didn't work, she thought. Bog-standard electricity – not exactly worthy of this strange time lord calculation… She leaned against the console, staring glumly at the floor. Her brain was going at about 100 miles an hour, trying to figure out viable solutions, when Jack awoke her back to the present.

"Rose… there are probably a thousand people in this hospital. They're panicking. They're on the moon – they don't know why and neither do we. So I'm gonna get my ass back out there to help. Let's figure out why this happened first – and worry about the bond later, kay?"

Rose stared at him for a moment and reality caught up with her. She'd been so cooped up in the TARDIS, only researching and scanning for days, that she felt like she had just been slapped awake from a weird brain binge. She clenched her fists and wrestled most of the scientific gibberish in her head into the background, and tried to be just herself for the moment. She blinked at Jack and shook off the lethargy that had settled in her mind. "Yes, o-of course… God, Jack, I've been a million miles away."

He smiled at her. "I know," he said, then offered his hand. The familiar gesture nearly made her choke up, but she grabbed his hand nonetheless and nodded. Jack pulled her along, out of the TARDIS, and together they crept out of the storage closet and into the hospital hallway.

They heard a commotion down the corridor, and saw people rushing around. As they turned a corner, they could see a young woman in a white coat trying to calm a group of people down. Then she spotted Jack and quickly ran over to them. "Dr. Harkness, there you are!"

Rose suppressed a giggle. Of course Jack had been making friends. As Jack reassured the girl, she glanced out of the window on the other end of the hallway and froze. Three giant, elongated, black spaceships had just landed outside the doors.

"Jack," she said and drew his attention to the window. "Company. Headed for the main entrance."

"Right." He turned back and pulled an apologetic face at the girl. "Martha, you don't happen to know the quickest way to the entrance hall, do you?"

The girl sent an appraising and doubtful look in Rose's direction, then nodded.

"This way."

As they jogged along, Rose noted with satisfaction that the girl seemed to be one of the only people not completely freaking out. They saw several people that had passed out, and quite a few doctors who were panicking more than their patients. They quickly ran down a few stairwells and made their way through more corridors. Finally, they turned a corner and looked down into the main lounge. It was an open space area and the stairwell led along a transparent balustrade down into the hall.

Jack stopped abruptly and held Rose back from skidding forward, just as a platoon of soldiers in dark, covering uniforms marched into the building. Everyone in the lounge ran away screaming, trying to hide behind seats and drink machines. Rose quickly drew Jack and Martha behind a few potted plants, where they had a good vantage point to see all that happened.

After a few seconds of tense silence, the front man of the troop removed his helmet, to reveal a large rhino-like head beneath. Next to her, Rose heard Martha take a sharp breath and mutter under her breath. "Oh my god it's aliens, I knew it," she whispered almost triumphantly.

Rose glanced at Jack. "Recognize them?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Judoon," he grimaced. "Alien police for hire, if you will. Had a few run-ins, but always managed to shake'em."

"Oh please don't tell me they're looking for you…?"

Jack laughed, but a little nervously. "Oh, no that's all been, uh, sorted out years ago, nothing to worry about," he said, rubbing a hand on his neck.

At this point, they caught Martha staring at them with eyes the size of saucers and her mouth slightly agape. "What the hell are you talking about?" she whispered.

However, just before Jack could launch into a no doubt charming explanation of their antics, the Judoon started to bellow out something in the entrance hall below, explaining that they were here to apprehend a criminal. One of the human doctors then got shakily to his feet, hands raised, and attempted to make some kind of peaceful introduction.

"Uhm, we.. are citizens of planet Earth… uh, we welcome you in peace."

For a second, Rose wondered why he was responding so generally, before she realised that for her and Jack, the TARDIS was doing the translating. However, the poor guy did not have to wait long for an answer. The head Judoon picked him up by the collar and unceremoniously shoved him against the nearest wall. He pointed a gadget at him, which made the humans (and the girl next to Rose) jump in fear, only to scan the man's face in a blue light. The man was stuttering along, probably thinking his life had come to an end.

The machine beeped, then the Judoon let the man go. "Language assimilated," it grunted. "Designation: Earth, English. You will be catalogued." To another round of gasps, the Judoon drew another tool and scanned the shaking man's brain.

"Category: human," he barked and drew forward his hand to mark it with a big, black X. He left the stunned man where he was and turned. "Catalogue all suspects," he ordered. The rest of the platoon sheathed their guns and drew similar scanners themselves. The platoon began to move, scanning the frightened humans, marking them all with black Xs.

"Crap," Rose muttered.

Jack glanced at her. "What?"

"They're cataloguing the humans."

"Oh. And?"

"Which means they're after something non-human."

"Oh. OH."

"Yes," Rose sighed and got up, retreating behind the wall. "Come on."

Martha quickly followed. "Wait a moment! Who are you? Dr. Harkness, how did you know what these things are?"

Rose grimaced at her. "He's not really a doctor," she added. "And we haven't got time. We need to find the alien before they find us. You helpin'?"

Downstairs, they heard the Judoon bark more orders and the troops began to move. Martha gave one last glance at them, then back at the strange pair in front of her.

"Yes!" she blurted out, and Rose smiled. Well, that was something at least. "Good," she said. "Do you know where we can find a computer or something that would have the central patient records?"

"Yes! This way," Martha said and turned towards the stairwell to lead them further up into the hospital. Jack graciously held out his hand to let her pass, and she raised his eyebrows at him. "So if you're not a doctor, who are you then?"

"Captain Jack Harkness," he grinned as they jogged up the stairs. "At your service."

"Yeah, he's not really a Captain anymore either," Rose felt the need to point out, suppressing a smile at his chagrin.

"Oh yeah? Since when?" He asked, sounding very mock-hurt, running up behind her.

"Ever since you blew up your ship… to save our lives?" She gave him a little wink and saw Martha's eyes go a little wider. Who'd ever thought she'd play wingman for Jack, she thought.

Jack grinned at Martha. "Call me Jack," he said, and Rose saw her blush a little in return.

x

A few minutes later, Martha had led them to one of the top floor offices. "You can't access the files downstairs, unless you have the passwords, and I don't. We're better off talking to Dr. Stoker directly," she explained as they strode through the hallway.

Martha glanced back at Jack. "So, you seem to know what's going on then… Why are we on the moon?"

Jack was typing furiously into his vortex manipulator whilst they were walking. "Neutral territory. They've got no jurisdiction on Earth, so they brought us here, isolated us… I think the rain going up was literally them, scooping us to the moon."

"Like ice cream," Rose mused, earning herself a very confused look from Martha. "What? Not exactly elegant, is it? Getting the whole bloody hospital – bit overkill, isn't it?"

Jack whacked his vortex manipulator one last time. "Fried. Once again. And yeah, Judoon aren't exactly known for being delicate."

Martha grabbed his arm, looking worried. "But you said…. If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon, or something?"

Jack grinned down at her. "Good thought, but no – they brought us here to find someone," he glanced back at Rose. "Not us, mind you, but it would be good if we could get to that someone before anyone else can…"

Martha abruptly stopped. According to the small sign, they'd reached Dr. Stoker's office. Martha didn't hesitate and strode inside. "Mr. Stoker, I…" she started, and Jack and Rose filed into the office behind her. Martha froze.

Rose took in the scene. Two large, looming figures dressed completely in black leather stood beside the large, wooden desk. Legs were protruding out from behind it. Legs that looked very much like they belonged to someone in charge. And there was that sound again.

A _sucking_ sound.

A small, old woman peeked out from behind the desk, holding a straw. A straw covered in blood.

Martha backed away and bumped into Jack and Rose. Jack reached for the door handle.

"KILL THEM!" the old woman cried, and the three of them turned to run.

x

The blood pumped in Rose's veins as they raced down the corridors. Whenever she looked back, it seemed the black figure had come closer. Jack was racing ahead, and Rose felt herself and Martha lagging behind. Suddenly, he skidded around a corner; when they followed, he pulled them back behind him. He stood ready to pounce, a heavy fire extinguisher in his hands. For a second, Rose felt her hearts hammer in her chest, when finally, Jack whipped up the blunt weapon.

With a loud clang, their pursuer connected soundly with the extinguisher, crumpling to the floor. Rose and Martha both let out a breath. Jack stepped forward, panting, weighing his weapon, grinning cockily. He eyed the figure on the ground. "Not that I'm interested, but what is he wearing - and what motorcycle fetish club do I have to go to…"

He couldn't finish. Martha let out a small scream as the helmeted guy stirred, sitting up with sudden speed, grabbing the fire extinguisher. Jack let it drop and turned to run. "Nevermind," he muttered, as they bolted down the corridor. Martha had grabbed Rose's arm in support, and she quickly moved to take her hand. Martha didn't hesitate and held on tight as they ran down the hallways.

They'd moved to a nearly deserted part of the hospital, it seemed. The hallways were empty, and only carts and toppled machinery barred their way. Rose let go of Martha and shouted, "help me!", beginning to throw more carts and furniture over, to stall the leather dude. Together, they toppled a heavy drinks machine, smashing the glass window open. Cans began rolling down the hallway, spilt soda covering the floor. When she looked round, Rose spotted Jack taking a defensive position, gun at the ready.

"What are you doing? You brought a gun?" she ran over to him, taking cover.

"Not the time! Get on with it, find the alien! I'll hold him off."

"Oh no you don't, you'll…"

"Get killed?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, Jack," Rose began, but suddenly froze. She saw the sign on the wall, next to the room they stood in front of. This could work. It was dangerous, but it could work. "Actually, how are you with radiation?"

Jack's eyebrows went up. "Oh, well, I haven't tried it so far." He pocketed the gun, just as the dark figure turned the corner to run straight into broken glass and massive drinks machine. Not that it seemed to deter it much.

"Uh, now seems as good a time as any," Jack added hurriedly and pushed Rose and a very bewildered looking Martha into the x-ray room.

Rose heard crashing behind them and quickly whipped out her sonic screwdriver. "If this works," she muttered, getting to work on the machine.

"Hang on, what are you doing?" Martha quickly turned to Jack. "What did she mean? What are you gonna do with the x-ray?"

Jack just shot her an apologetic glance and slammed himself in the doorway, just as the creature following them did the same. "Can't hold it for long, you better hurry," he grunted, and Rose sped up her movements.

Martha ran over to her. "What can I do?"

"Find the on-switch," Rose said and held the sonic steady as Martha darted away.

"Now or never," Jack shouted and ran out of the way. "Get behind the screen!"

The door crashed once.

"I need to hold it steady!" Rose shouted back. The sound of some kind of electronic overload started building up. _Just another second, just another…_

"I'll hold it! You! Screen!" he yelled, trying to wrestle the screwdriver from her.

The door crashed twice. It gave. The black-clad man rushed inside, ready to tackle them.

"NOW!" Rose screamed, and everything illuminated. The entire room crackled to life, and she vaguely noticed her own and Jack's skeletons shining through, whereas their pursuer remained solid.

Radiation coursed through her body; she felt a tingling, an almost unpleasant tickle in her blood. She felt unsteady on her feet for a moment, everything swam a little. Then, she could see clearly again, and registered two things. One, the thing was down, for good this time; two, she hadn't unwittingly used her strange powers again. She felt surprisingly jubilant.

The same could not be said for Jack, however. He stepped into her field of vision, grabbing her head, searching her face. "Rose, oh God, are you okay?!"

"…'m fine," she mumbled.

He quickly pulled her into a hug. "Don't do that to me again, okay? You could have died!"

Rose hugged him back, more relieved than she wanted to let on at the moment. "I guess I'm immune?"

Jack shook his head and held her at arm's length to look at her again. "And you _had_ to find out by giving me a heart-attack?" Rose smirked a little.

"Are you all right?!" Martha shouted from behind the roentgen screen, a slight panic tinging her voice.

"Yeah, you can come out now," Jack said, letting go of Rose. "I've absorbed it all, I think."

"We did," Rose corrected, rubbing her forearms. "Ugh, tingles."

Martha stared at them, then at the thing on the floor, then back at them. "Okay, _what the hell_?!"

Rose sighed and sent her an apologetic look. "Martha, I'm so sorry, we'll explain later, okay?" She turned to Jack. "So we found our blood-sucking alien – what now?"

Jack rubbed a hand down his neck, looking at her thoughtfully. "How should I know? You're the Doctor now," he said, sounding sad.

Rose sobered as well. "No I'm not," she said quietly.

Martha threw up her hands in exasperation. "What is this, the party of people who _aren't_ doctors?!" Rose and Jack both snapped their heads round to look at her. "Never mind who's got the bloody degree," Martha continued, "we need to let those rhinos know about Mrs. Finnegan!"

Jack's face went grim. "Yeah, she's a nasty one. Plasmavore, I think."

"Plasmavore?"

"Sucks people's blood to feed, but…" suddenly, he slapped his forehead. "Oh, of course! She's trying to mask herself! If she sucked your boss' blood, that means she'll register as human now! We need to find her before the Judoon can catalogue her, come on!"

He turned and made for the ruined doorway. Rose and Martha had no choice but to follow. She pocketed her screwdriver, only to find it had been frazzled by the machine. Her heart sank. So much for that asset, she thought, and dashed after the pair.

x

They went down one level, and found the corridors crowded with people sitting on the floor, looking exhausted. Rose could almost taste it in the air; the oxygen was getting scarce. Martha ran over to her colleague, who was checking on a patient. After a minute, she rejoined Rose and Jack, who were looking through the slumped people, trying to find the old woman again.

"The oxygen is running out," Martha confirmed.

"What are they gonna do? They can't just let us all suffocate," Jack said, sounding angry.

"They've done this floor," Rose said. "They must have gotten nearly everyone now. Where are they?"

"Rose, you should go back to the TARDIS. If they find you, they'll execute you on the spot. Trust me, I've seen them work."

Martha ran to keep up with them. "Wait, are you an _alien too_?" she gasped.

Rose chewed her lip. She didn't like hiding away, but perhaps Jack was right. She didn't get a chance to tell him, though. As they rounded a corner, they ran straight into a Judoon squad. Before they could react, a blue scanner ran down her forehead.

"Race: unknown. Alien presence confirmed! EXECUTE!" the Judoon barked, and a dozen guns were suddenly levelled at them.

"Oh my god, you are," Martha whispered, before Rose grabbed her arm again, felt Jack's hand slip in hers, and ran for her life.

Subconsciously, she was heading for the TARDIS, even while running haphazardly through the corridors. As the adrenaline coursed through her veins, she felt the golden fire rise in her mind. She needed to protect herself and her companions, and everyone in this hospital. But doubt nagged at her; if she kept on calling on the Bad Wolf, she would burn out before this day was out. She could feel it. Every time, it got more dangerous and volatile. She wrestled down the feeling, keeping it in check, for now.

Suddenly, Jack yanked her arm in the opposite direction, making her and Martha stumble. "There she is!" he yelled and grabbed Rose. "Run for the TARDIS! Go! I'll stop her!" Jack bolted through two large swinging doors and down a hallway, straight towards a room marked "MRI".

Rose ducked just as a Judoon blast broke the wall behind her head, and dragged Martha with her. "This way!"

x

Jack sighed in relief as he heard Rose run. He was afraid she'd try and pull some stupid heroics – well, that was his job now. He ran straight through the doors to the MRI, a plan forming in his mind.

"Hey lady!" he called, gun cocked. A slab stepped in his way. He knew it was pointless to shoot, but holding on to the gun made him feel a bit braver at the moment. He could just see the old woman behind a screen, working the MRI controls. The machine was crackling with electrical energy.

"Stop it, right there," he called, but she only glanced at him briefly.

"Get him," she ordered calmly, and the slab made his move.

Jack turned back and made for the door again, hoping this would work. "Yeah, you better hurry, the Judoon are on their move, lady, and they're not happy."

"Oh," she said, and then again, "Oh! You know!" She seemed delighted about it. "KILL HIM!" She suddenly screeched, and the slab hurtled itself towards Jack. He pushed through the door backwards, shooting at the slab. The creature merely shrugged it off, and lunged… but Jack had run. He dashed down the hallway, yelling loudly.

"I've found your alien! Judoon! Where are you?! Scan the damn alien!"

Some patients around him probably wondered who the maniac in the doctor's coat was, and why he was waving a gun around and yelling. They'd probably blame their oxygen-deprived brains later. Jack finally spotted the squadron from earlier and yelled even louder.

"I've found her, you idiots!"

Almost immediately, he was scanned. "Confirmed: human, with traces of alien influence," was the verdict, and he was handed a slip of paper asking him to please register with the proper authorities.

"Yeah not gonna happen, but will you now please follow me to the criminal?!"

"Auxiliary action by civilians will not be compensated," one of them stated, but the squad moved down the corridor he indicated.

"This way!" he called, and jogged back to the MRI.

The Judoon not so much opened as rather kicked the door in and raised their weapons. "It's her! She's the alien!" Jack stepped out of the way.

Mrs. Finnegan turned to them, a pleasant smile on her face. "Oh I don't mind, scan all you like."

Jack grabbed a Judoon's arm as he raised the scanner. "Use the secondary setting. She's a plasmavore. She absorbed a human's blood, to hide."

"Secondary scan initiated," the Judoon acknowledged without question.

"What? I don't know what you mean, dearie," the old woman tittered, but Jack saw a frightened glint in her eyes.

The Judoon's scanner bleeped. "Non-human."

"Oh no, you don't!" she cried, suddenly wild with fury. She turned and ran for the MRI controls, pushing a few final buttons, as the Judoon placidly continued their sentence.

"Confirmed: Plasmavore. Charged with the crime of killing the Child Princess of Padrivole Regency Nine."

"SHE DESERVED IT!" the alien cried whilst she was maniacally plugging cables together.

"The accused confesses," one of the Judoon stated. "Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution." They raised their weapons.

Mrs. Finnegan turned, a now triumphant smile on her face. "Enjoy your victory, Judoon! Because you're gonna burn with me! Burn in HELL!" she yelled, as several red beams cut into her body, disintegrating her instantly.

Jack and the squad looked at the smoking pile of ashes. "Case closed," the Judoon stated, and they all sheathed their weapons. Finally, Jack noticed that the MRI had now reached a critical state. Electricity was crackling all over it, and he reckoned it was gonna blow. The Judoon held out his scanner at the machine.

"Scans detect lethal amalgamation of magnetic pulse."

"Lethal?!" Jack cried. "But what about all the people in the hospital?!"

"Our jurisdiction has ended. The Judoon will evacuate." He activated a con system on his uniform. "All units withdraw," came the rasping voice over the loudspeakers.

"Well, shit," Jack said, as they marched from the room. He quickly evaluated his options. Could he absorb the electricity to make it safe? No… he'd probably burn to a crisp first… but… "Wait a minute," he whispered. "Electricity!"

There was only one thing he thought might work now. He pushed the comm button on his wrist. "Rose? I found your energy source."

x

Martha was pulled through the large plastic tarpaulins around the abandoned building work. She had so many questions, but she wasn't sure she knew where to begin. For one, she might have to wait until _alien police from space_ weren't trying to kill them anymore. The blonde woman called Rose led the way, suddenly revealing a large, blue box behind scattered supplies.

Martha gaped at it, stunned. Rose, however, seemed more relieved than Martha had seen her so far, and made for the box without so much as a pause.

"What's that?" she asked, but Rose just opened the door and went inside. Martha read the signs on the strange thing. "Police box?" she asked, but got no answer. "Rose?" she asked, and came closer to peek inside the box. "Do you think this is safe to…whatthehell?"

Suddenly, inside the tiny hull, a large, cavernous room opened up before her. Golden light shone throughout, weaving in and out of large, coral-like supports. In the centre of the room stood Rose, next to a large mushroom console of sorts. Martha stared. "B-but… it's bigger on the inside? How's that possible?"

Rose looked up. "Sorry, yeah, forgot to mention. I'll explain later." She went back to checking what seemed to be large monitors that had a floor plan of the hospital pulled up.

Martha stepped on the wooden platform, gaping at all the buttons, lights and gizmos around her. "So… you're alien."

"Well. I guess so. But this is a space ship. And currently our best ticket out of here. I'm trying to patch into the speakers of the hospital, to tell everyone to come here… maybe we could get some people off the moon that way?" She seemed unsure.

Martha frowned, coming closer. She decided to just go with it for now, and applied herself to the problem at hand. "I'm not sure that'll work – most of them will have passed out from lack of oxygen by now. Unless you can, I dunno… beam them here?" she asked hopefully.

Rose gave her a rueful smile. "Don't think I can," she said sadly. Martha finally had a chance to really look at her, and considered that she didn't look – or sound – very alien to her.

"What about Jack? And… Mrs. Finnegan? Can you, I dunno, let the Judoon know where she is?"

Rose flicked a switch and then gripped the console with both hands in frustration. "I've been trying to access the hospital's internal tech stuff, but I think the Judoon messed with it somehow. Ugh, it's so frustrating, I don't know what…" Rose closed her eyes for a moment, and there seemed to be a golden glow shimmering on her skin. Martha just wanted to take a closer look, when she felt a shudder go through the room, and Rose's eyes snapped open.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, not doing it, don't worry," she muttered between clenched teeth, and Martha felt quite sure that she wasn't talking to her.

Suddenly, the console beeped on the other side.

" _Rose_?" It was Jack, Martha heard with relief.

"Yeah?" Rose answered, running over, pushing a button in return.

"I think I found your energy source. Transport to my coordinates." The console bleeped again.

"Wait, what?" Martha managed, as Rose began dashing around, pressing levers and switches and... a glass ball? "Transport? What did he mean, transport? I thought you couldn't... WHOA!" she cried, as the entire room lurched to the side, throwing her off balance. Rose just held on to the console as the ship rumbled and groaned. A loud, grating noise rang through the room, and suddenly, everything went still. Without a glance back, Rose yelled, "come on!" and ran for the doors. Martha had no choice but to follow.

Through the doors, she half expected to run into the supplies and tarpaulin, even though she somehow knew that they probably had moved. She saw Jack, and for some reason, he suddenly seemed the most normal thing in comparison to _everything_ and she flung herself in his arms for a brief hug. "Oh God, we've moved!" she gasped, holding on to his arms.

"Yeah, a bit bumpy, isn't she?" he smirked. "Let's celebrate your virgin flight another time, sweetheart." He looked up. "Rose, the machine. The Judoon got the plasmavore, but she set it to overload."

"I see it," she said. She had already moved toward the controls and was shaking her head. "I'm stumped. But if this blows, so does the hospital. And probably the moon. And who knows what else."

"Can't you stop it?" Martha cried.

"No clue," Rose said, looking helplessly at all the cables and buttons.

"Rose! The TARDIS!" Jack called. "Absorb the power! You can save everyone and get your dimension thing working at the same time!"

"What if it doesn't work?" Rose came back to them, looking anxious. "We've only got one shot at this…" she chewed her lip.

Martha turned to her. "Look, whatever it is he's suggesting, we haven't got time either way. Try it, cause it's the only idea we've got so far, right?"

"Improvise, remember?" Jack said, as another loud crackle came from the machine. Rose nodded, and ran back to the TARDIS. Jack grabbed Martha's hand and pulled her away behind a screen.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered. "Nice knowing you, Martha!"

He wrapped her in his arms, leaning down for a brief, but fierce kiss. Martha hardly had time to process this when a dull sound erupted from behind them. Jack turned them, to shield her from the MRI and the ever growing white light coming from the TARDIS, together with the rasping sound that she'd heard before.

The crackling electricity reached its peak, and just as an explosion seemed imminent, all sound and light seemed to switch off. Martha felt as if the very life had been sucked out of the room, like there was some kind of negative space around them. All she knew were Jack's arms still holding her, his face next to hers, his eyes firmly closed. After a second that stretched on for an eternity, Martha allowed herself to open her eyes.

The room had gone back to normal. The MRI was silent and looked dead. The TARDIS, however, was… glowing. Martha unwrapped herself from Jack, who was now staring at the machine in awe. "It worked," he whispered. They both stepped forward.

"Rose?" Jack called. The doors of the ship stood wide open, but they couldn't make out the inside; everything was consumed in a bright, white light.

"What happened?" Martha breathed, only then noticing that she felt incredibly light-headed all of a sudden. She gasped for air, to find that not enough oxygen was reaching her lungs – hadn't been for a while now. Her adrenaline had kept her going; now she was crashing, hard.

She felt herself stumble, and reached out to steady herself. She heard Jack call out to her, but it was too late. A shock ran through her entire system as her hand made contact with the wood of the blue box. It was hot, almost burning; her entire body felt as if it was being compressed and pulled, crushed and dragged away from herself.

Suddenly, everything snapped back to reality. Her body continued its motion, as if she'd never touched the weird machine; everything was dark and she felt herself fall… but there was something else… hands gripped her legs, tackling her to the ground. With a grunt, she slammed down onto the hard floor, the shock of it finally bringing her back to full consciousness.

Someone lunged on top of her, but as it was nearly dark, she had no idea who it was. It didn't feel like either Rose or Jack. And where was the TARDIS? Everything was illuminated only by the soft, orange glow coming from somewhere behind her. Suddenly, some lights switched back on, and a voice she didn't recognize asked, "It's over. Is everyone all right?"

In the light, she saw a young guy lie on top of her, his hands cradling her protectively. She had no idea who the hell he was. Her mind being unable to make any kind of sense of the situation, she felt her instincts take over. "GETOFFME!" she cried, wriggling out of the man's grasp with vigour. His eyes snapped to hers, widened in shock and confusion. " _Oi!_ I said, GET OFF!" she shouted again, this time scrambling free of his arms. He let go of her suddenly, and got up quickly. She got up too, wobbly on her legs, and retreated a few steps, looking around wildly. She felt trapped.

"What happened, where am I?!" She vaguely noticed that she was in some kind laboratory room. A man in a dark blue suit was standing in front of her, holding something. Around them were some people she couldn't quite make out. She tried to blink away the dizziness.

The man in the suit stepped forward. His face was anxious. "When did you put on that lab coat?" he asked quietly.

The younger man stared at her in confusion, taking in her appearance. "Martha…? W-what happened to your hair?" _How the hell did he know her name?!_

Martha looked around her. She was not in the hospital anymore, the ship was gone, and it seemed the whole thing was just as much a shock to them as it was to her. Finally, the whole day caught up with her in a rush, and she felt tears threatening to rise.

"Who the hell _are you_?" she fired at the strangers. "Where am I?! _Where's Jack_? _What have you done with Rose_?"

The man's eyes widened in utter shock and… hope? She felt her tired, oxygen-deprived body finally give in, and everything went black.


	15. A Tale of Two Marthas

**Chapter 15 – A Tale of Two Marthas**

 _ **Short chapter, but necessary intermission before the big whammo – just to let you lovely readers know I haven't forgotten you or this story. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!**_

x

Martha felt herself become weightless, she was almost floating through space. Her mother had just been in her grasp, and Mickey lunged at her legs to get her down. Safe from the bullets or sparks or whatever else was being fired in the Torchwood lab at this moment. But what had happened next, she could not understand. The shouts had been snuffed out, the flickering sparks of light replaced by a dull darkness. She could almost hear her own heart thud in her mind as the pressure seemed to intensify, and then... lift.

Her hand reached out to steady her body, and touched – wood. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. There was something strange about the air, making her feel a little light-headed. Had she fainted? She saw the blue wood in front of her, then gradually took in her surroundings. She was no longer in the laboratory. A bright light was coming from inside the wooden box.

A man stepped up next to her, tall, wearing a long coat. He had a look of utter confusion on his face, and held out a hand. Martha shrunk back, frowning, and looked around, a slight panic rising. Where the hell was she?

"Martha?" the man asked. "What the...?" He looked her up and down, taking in her appearance as she was – still wearing the clothes from the night before, her dark leather jacket merely discarded on a chair in the laboratory.

She tried to swallow, to fight her dry throat. "Who are you? How do you...?" She was interrupted by a loud, deep rumble, rather like thunder, and the room suddenly lurching violently to the side. She steadied herself on the wooden box once more, and the man did the same, looking around in sudden elation.

"Oh yes!" He gave a loud cheer. "I knew they'd chicken out! Hah! Hang on, we're going back!"

The room began shaking more and more violently, and random furniture and machinery started toppling over, a screen sped past Martha's head and crashed into the opposide wall. She realised she seemed to be in some sort of MRI room in a hospital, but everything was incredibly damaged and black burn marks had seared the walls and ceiling.

She held on to the box for dear life. "Going back where?!" she shouted at the man over the thunderous noise.

"Back to Earth!" he yelled back, bright enthusiasm plastered on his face. He then turned to look to the bright light that came from the box, bending to peer inside. "Rose? You in there? Everything all right?"

 _Rose_. That name rang a bell. _But..._ Her thoughts began to race.

There was no answer. "Rose?" he tried again. Suddenly, as if the situation wasn't confusing enough, the blue box began to rattle and make noises, groaning like a dying engine. Also, the wood that Martha had been clinging to desperately seemed to fade beneath her very touch.

"Oh no, you don't!" the man cried out and stepped towards her, grabbed Martha's hand and dragged her forwards. Before she could react or find something else to hold on to, she was pulled forwards with his momentum, directly into the white light. A small yelp escaped her throat, and then... nothing.

They stumbled into a large room that was filled with the same bright, glowing light. Martha felt slightly nauseous and dizzy. Another weird change of scenery and she'd be reeling from whiplash. The man let go of her arm and gave her a critical look, taking in her stunned face. She forced her eyes from examining the large, coral-like pillars, the weird ceiling and the glowing computer in the centre, to look at him instead. He was definitely handsome, she noted, and although she had no clue who he was, felt that he didn't seem to want to harm her. Instead, his face radiated concern.

Martha tried to find her voice again. "Okay, stop. Who are you, and where are we now?" she managed, but shakier than she'd hoped.

He seemed to debate with himself and glanced back to the computer console in the middle, his eyes searching. Then he looked quickly back at Martha. "You're safe. Whatever else happens, in here, you'll be fine, trust me. But I can't..." He took a few steps away, but pointed at her as he went. "I promise we'll deal with this. One mystery at a time, okay?"

"Okay?" she managed, frowning. _Guess I don't have a choice,_ she mused. Once again, her thoughts were racing ahead. If Rose was here, wherever _here_ was, and if she was, perhaps, that woman Mickey had told her about... No. It was simply too big a coincidence not to be her, Martha decided. But then if Rose was in another universe, did that mean...?

The man quickly made his way up to the central platform, and continued to call for his friend. Meanwhile, she noted the groaning, grating mechanical sound had died away, leaving behind a calm, albeit very strongly glowing room. The light seemed to emanate from everything – the walls, the console, the ceiling, the pillars... but most prominently from the strange cylindrical shape atop the computer, which was gently humming.

Just when the man was about to head down one of the random corridors that led away from the room, they both finally heard an answering shout coming from another.

"Jack!"

"Rose!"

A blonde girl came running out from a doorway, clutching a large book to her chest. She collided with the man and they hugged quickly, both laughing.

"It worked!"

"Yes! And check your instruments, I think the Judoon returned the hospital!" Martha's mind stumbled over that strange word and filed it away under _deal with later_. But it seemed to confirm her thoughts.

The girl called Rose made for the console and drew a large monitor on a bracket towards her. "Yes, oh thank goodness," she sighed. "I had no clue how to solve that one, bloody Judoon and their flair for the dramatics..." she went on to grumble, but quickly began flipping through the book in her arm now. The man – Jack – leaned over as she propped it open on the console. "Are we still in the hospital?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No," Rose said absent-mindedly. She gestured vaguely at the cylinder above her. "As soon as the energy was absorbed, she just took off. No clue where we are. Not the vortex," she added with a sigh. She then began to talk eagerly about some kind of bridge, whilst Jack continued to eye the cylinder critically.

Martha stepped a little closer, words swirling in her mind. Vortex. Oh God. She felt like she might throw up. She gripped the railing a little harder. As her adrenaline rush began to abate, a cold shiver ran down her spine. Oh God, she had no idea where she was... "Mum... Leo..." she brought out under her breath. She thought of Mickey and all he had told her. How dangerous it was, this life. How sometimes, things went too far. What if she got trapped, too? She had run headlong into this, and hadn't even given it a second thought... and then Mrs. Slater had appeared... She felt a wave of panic sweep over her and her face felt cold. Her breath came shorter. She knew exactly what was happening to her body, and tried desperately to stop it. _You know the drill. Deep, slow breaths. Focus on something calm and steady._

She closed her eyes, when she suddenly felt a soft touch on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Martha looked up and saw Rose looking at her in concern. She had an open, caring look, much like Jack had minutes before. She seemed less excited now, but Martha also saw something beneath the surface, bubbling. She tried to take another deep breath. The touch felt soothing and anchored her a little.

"I... I'm okay. Just.. panicked."

Rose frowned now, and glanced her up and down searchingly. Jack came up behind her, the same worried look on his face. "Martha, do you know who we are?"

Rose's face snapped around to his, but Jack kept his eyes fixed on Martha, who swallowed. "No," she managed, but her eyes flickered to Rose once again. "But..." she hesitated. Maybe this was all a trick? Should she give information away, or rather keep everything to herself? The last two days had made her cautious. But then Rose turned back to her.

"Your hair and... clothes are all different. Where's your coat? What happened?"

"Coat...?"

Jack came closer and gestured with his arm for her to follow. "Okay, you better sit down a moment." He led her to a kind of comfy pilot seat and Martha leaned against it, still wary. Jack took a step back again. "Hey, whatever happened, we'll figure it out, but don't worry, we're friends. You just helped us save the entire hospital. Everybody's going to be fine."

"Hospital...? Okay, where am I?"

Rose came forward again and put a hand on her arm. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Her voice was kind, and Martha decided to stop listening to her head and go with her gut. Just like Mickey, this girl really felt like she meant well and was only trying to help. Martha felt herself calm a little, and decided to go with her instinct.

"I was in the lab... somebody fired a shot, things escalated, and I think they hit the machine." She took a deep breath. "The machine the Doctor had built."

Rose sucked in a sharp breath and gripped her arm tighter immediately. "The Doctor?!" Both Rose and Jack exclaimed almost simultaneously.

"Oh my God, then it worked," Martha whispered. "I know who you are." She felt tears rise to her eyes as the full realization hit her. She was in a parallel universe.

x

"Did you just say... _Rose_?" The Doctor rushed forward and grabbed Martha by the arms. The girl yelped in shock and backed away from him.

"Oi! Get off!"

Mickey jumped to their side immediately. "Doctor," he said, a clear warning note in his voice. "Slow down."

The Doctor wanted to snap at him, but instead he ran his hands through his hair. "Mickey," he said, "don't you see?"

"Yes, I see, but can we please not freak out now," he said quietly, glancing around the room.

Martha – or the person who looked like her – registered only absolute bewilderment and stared at them in turn. She was wearing different clothes, a white coat with a name tag, her hair was done differently, and she obviously had no clue what was going on. To the Doctor it was immediately obvious what had happened. Sadly, some of the rest of the assembled humans weren't in the loop.

"Martha!" Francine Jones ran forward, throwing herself in Martha's arms. "Are you okay?!"

"Mum?!" Utter shock registered again on Martha's face. The Doctor merely raised a hand but before he could say anything he realised that it would all be for naught. For all they knew, Martha's mother was dead or something in the other universe, or otherwise attached with some kind of catastrophe, knowing his luck. Yet Martha merely embraced her parallel universe mother as best she could, seeming to take some kind of solace from her presence. The brother came forward too, the one with the good punch, and several moments were spent by the family exchanging the usual, confused and pointless questions.

The Doctor exchanged glances with Pete and Mickey, whose worried faces told him that they understood what must have happened. Pete quickly came over to him, whilst Mickey hovered around the Jones family.

"It worked," Pete merely said under his breath.

"I know," the Doctor answered, rubbing his neck. "If I'd known shooting at it was the answer, I'd have tried that last week..." he chuckled sarcastically. "Figures."

Pete looked at the team of Mrs. Slater, all subdued or unconscious by now, some of them already tied up by the Torchwood employees. "Okay, how about... I sort out Mrs. Slater over there, and you go explain transdimensional physics to the Joneses?"

"Aw, do I have to?" He tried to make light of the situation, but his frown belied how deeply in thought he was.

"Yes." Pete raised an eyebrow. "You got us into this mess, you make sure we don't come across as even more evil than she already thinks we are. I'm counting on you," he added and grabbed his phone. The Doctor saw him press a single button – the president on speed dial. This was one of those days.

The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way to the family, who were now battering poor Mickey with questions. "What have you done with my daughter? How come she doesn't remember anything?! Have you done any weird brain experiments? I can tell you right now I'll sue the living Jesus out of your organization, and it'll cost ya..."

Mickey was desperately trying to get a word in between Mrs. Jones' furious rant, but to no avail.

"Uh, excuse me?" The Doctor leaned in, hands still in his pockets.

"WHAT." Martha's mother turned her thunderous face on him, finger pointing. Uh-oh, he hated it when mothers got like this.

"I think I may be able to explain," he began, and before Francine was able to begin anew, he quickly added, "but please, I can assure you, we have done nothing to your daughter, nor harmed her in any way. Please, Mrs. Jones, we don't mean anyone any trouble, weeell, maybe except for the Cybermen, but... but if you could just listen, I will fill you in." He was positively imploring. The faster they'd all calm down, the faster he'd get some answers out of the wrong Martha.

Francine seemed to calm down a little, but still regarded him with narrowed eyes. Mickey piped up again. "Why don't we have a seat?" He pulled up a few of the chairs that had been thrown to the floor by the scuffles. Leo, Francine and Martha all sat down, Martha's mother never letting go of her hand. The Doctor sat down on an overturned desk and looked at Martha, holding her gaze. He needed to know.

"Martha," he said gently. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Martha swallowed and raised her chin a little. She glanced at her mother, then back at the Doctor. "W-well, I was in the hospital, and we were, um..." she hesitated, once again looking around at them in worry.

"Whatever it is, trust me, we've seen weirder. You don't have to be afraid. Whatever it is, we'll believe you," the Doctor said with a small, and he hoped reassuring smile.

Mickey nodded. "Promise. I know how you feel. Been there," he said simply.

Martha nodded and gave a little 'here goes nothing' shake of the head. "Well, we were on the moon," she said.

"The moon?!" Francine cried out. "What is this nonsense? Have you drugged her?!"

But this time it was Leo who put an arm around his mother. "Mum, just... let her finish, and calm down, okay? I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this."

She didn't seem convinced, but remained quiet. Martha sighed. "Well, those were my thoughts exactly at first, but... it was real, I saw it with my own eyes... the whole hospital was on the moon. Really!"

"Go on," the Doctor said quietly.

Martha pushed some hair behind her ear and looked at her knees as she began her tale. She told them what happened with the Judoon and the hunt for the alien plasmavore, constantly going back on some detail that only made sense to her in retrospect. Every time she mentioned Rose or Jack, the Doctor nearly jumped out of his skin. Mickey sent him angry warning glances to keep his questions for later; but when Martha reached the point where Rose flew the TARDIS to another room, he pushed himself off the table angrily and began pacing, pulling his hair in frustration and disbelief.

 _His Rose had actually done it. She'd flown the TARDIS, picked up Jack, kept on running..._ Martha hadn't said as much, but there were some details she was editing out on purpose. He could tell that she seemed reluctant to talk specifically about Rose – but everything hinted strongly that Rose and Jack had been very keen to avoid the Judoon scanners. He could guess why.

Martha was looking at him, worried by his reactions. "Well, and.. that was kind of it. The MRI overloaded, but then nothing happened. She, uh, Rose, must have stopped it somehow. After that I don't remember anything. There was hardly any oxygen left, and I felt dizzy. I felt a weird spinny sensation, and then I ended up here, where, uh, you tackled me to the ground," she added a bit uncertainly, looking at Mickey.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "But there was somebody shooting at you, you know?"

"Right," she tried a small smile, then looked back at her mother. "Honestly, I wasn't given any drugs. And oxygen depravation doesn't mess with your head quite this much, I think." She glanced at the Doctor. "But I'm positive I've never seen you before – so I'd like some answers now. Where am I and who are you people?"

The Doctor didn't answer immediately. He took a deep breath. "Where to begin?" he mused. He ran a hand down his face and sat down on the overturned desk again. "You see that machine over there?" He pointed at the smoking remains of the dimension portal. "Well... what's left of it..."

Martha nodded. Francine still had a look of utter disapproval on her face, but the Doctor decided to ignore that for the moment.

"Right. That's a dimension portal. Or was supposed to be. I built it."

"Why?" Martha asked immediately. "What does it do?"

He kept her gaze. "I allows travel between different universes."

Martha's eyes went a little wider. The Doctor glanced at Francine and Leo. Mickey took the chance to adress them now. "I know this all sounds strange to you, but think for a moment. Torchwood was created to deal with alien threats and weird technology. Whatever you think we've done, remember that we – " he gestured back to Pete and the team – "have been fighting, some of us from day one, to keep you and your families safe. We're not trying to ensnare anyone, and we're certainly not terrorists. Whatever Mrs. Slater here has told you is a lie, I hope you realise that."

Leo looked at him, keeping a protective arm around his sister. "She told us Torchwood was dangerous."

Mickey was silent at that and looked to the floor. But Martha looked back at the Doctor. "Why do you... want to travel between different universes? Is that even possible?"

He sighed. "Yes, it is. You, and I and Mickey here are living proof."

"What, me?"

"Yep. You're not suffering from amnesia, Miss Jones, you genuinely have never seen us, or this Torchwood facility in your life."

"What?" Francine asked, staring in shock at her – but not her – daughter.

"Ask her where she works," the Doctor simply said.

Francine searched Martha's face. Martha frowned and held out her name tag for them to see. "Royal Hope hospital, London. I'm a medical student... practical year... don't you know?" she asked hopefully, a last shred of disbelief remaining.

Leo and Francince exchanged glances. "But... you work at Greenway medical facility... Mrs. Slater is your boss," she explained.

"Mrs. Jones, I'm afraid there's no easy way to say this, but this isn't your daughter. This is another Martha from a parallel Earth, where no doubt she has her own mother and brother waiting for her."

Martha confirmed this with a slow nod. The Doctor saw that she was thinking, hard. "But... when I came here," she began, looking at Mickey again, "you didn't seem surprised to see me. Does that mean..." she did a little twisting gesture with her hands.

Mickey nodded. "One minute, our Martha, next moment, there was you. Different clothes, different hair, but still you," he added softly.

"Oh my God." Francine let go of her hands now, shaking her head. "But how is this possible? You... you look... you're..." she swallowed and Leo put his arm around her instead. She raised her head and looked at the Doctor. "How do we get her back?"

Martha, in comparison, seemed awfully collected. Hospital on the moon, aliens and dimension travel all in one day, the Doctor mused. She was quite cut out for this if she wasn't freaking out by now. "Hang on, you said... that you and him were – did you got switched as well?"

"Sort of," the Doctor said. "Him, yeah. Long story. But there's only one me. And that space ship you were in, that's mine." He sighed heavily now. "And Rose and Jack, they're... our friends."

He saw Mickey tense, and finally he couldn't stand it any more. He leaned forward, his head in his hands, then looked up quickly. He knew he had to keep it together, but...

"Please, can you just... tell me how she's been?"

He felt the desperation of the last few weeks and months catch up with him. Martha's eyebrows furrowed in pity when she looked at him. Maybe she understood.

"She seemed fine," she said quietly. "She was fine when I, uh, left."

He let out a breath. "Good. What... what was she doing in the hospital, do you know?"

Martha pushed her hair behind her ear again. "I'm not sure, they never said, but... whatever it was, she needed the electricity, I think. Maybe that's how she stopped the MRI from exploding."

"H2O scoop," he murmured. "There would have been plasma coils, of course..." His mind was furiously following up any possible plans Rose might have hatched – but whatever it was, she was doing something. He knew she'd tear the universe apart to open up a gate again, and it seemed like she'd found a way...

"One more thing," he said. "You mentioned the Judoon were scanning for aliens. Why were Rose and Jack so worried?"

Martha raised an eyebrow. "Well that much was obvious, she even told me herself. She didn't want to be found out as an alien. The Judoon would have executed her."

The Doctor's last remaining self-control slipped away and he felt his heart plummet. His worst fears had just been confirmed.

x

Jack leaned over the kitchen island and pushed a cup of tea towards Martha, which she accepted gratefully. Rose had assured them that the TARDIS – wherever she was – wasn't going anywhere, being sort of stuck in some kind of suspended state. She was brimming with energy, but there was no outlet. Rose hadn't said as much, but it seemed she knew roughly what she was doing, but thankfully had decided that they could all do with a short respite before they plunged headlong into the next disaster.

Martha sipped her tea slowly. After initially breaking down completely and sobbing into Rose's shoulder, she had now composed herself and begun to tell her story from the beginning. They'd established that, as Mickey had told her, a lot less time had passed in this universe – a mere couple of weeks compared to several months where the Doctor was. Rose and Jack listened to how she stumbled into Torchwood and how she'd been taken in by Rose's family. Rose pressed her for more details every time Jackie, Mickey or Pete were mentioned; she was incredibly relieved to hear everyone was doing well and seemed happy, considering the circumstances.

However, whenever the Doctor came up, a figure Martha could only describe as mysterious herself, and who she'd had little interaction with altogether, Rose's eyes lit up with a fire she'd not seen before. She didn't say anything, but it slowly became clear that Rose was willing to do just about anything to get him back. Jack, she noted, seemed no less eager, but kept his own enthusiasm in check, constantly giving worried glances at Rose's flushed cheeks and mysteriously glowing look.

Finally, Martha told them about this dimension machine she'd seen, and how the Doctor was apprently trying to create a portal back to his universe. Rose took a deep breath, got up, and quickly enveloped Martha in a long, heartfelt hug. At first, she was startled, but then returned the hug.

Rose pulled back and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Oh, I can't tell you what this means to me. Just hearing this. I'm so glad they're okay."

"They all miss you terribly," Martha said softly.

"Me too," Rose said, her voice still teary.

"Don't worry," Martha said, reaching out for Rose's hand again. "I'm sure the Doctor is doing everything in his power, and they'll soon have the machine working again."

"Yeah, you bet," Jack added. "I told you he couldn't live without you, Rose."

Rose had turned away from them. "I'm not waiting around for that," she said quietly.

"What?"

"I said," she turned back, and her eyes glowed brightly golden now. "I am not waiting for him to figure it out. I found us a way to open the portal. I can get us there now."

"Rose, your eyes..."

" _I won't have my family risk their lives again. I'll open the bridge."_

Jack stepped closer to her. "Rose, please stop. You know what happened last time you..."

She raised a hand and placed it gently on his chest. "I know. I'm not gonna last much longer like this, Jack. I've got to do it now. I can't afford to wait."

They exchanged a lasting look, until finally, Jack nodded, despite looking disturbed by her words. Martha could feel the energy coming off Rose's skin in waves, and the room seemed to have become warmer now.

"Wh..what do you mean?" she managed, cradling her mug. "What are you going to do?"

"Martha," she turned to her and regarded her with a fiery, triumphant stare. "You're going home."


	16. Into the Void

Chapter 16 – Into the Void

The Doctor was pacing furiously. Francine and Leo were alternately staring at him and at Martha, who, in turn, was trying to get more answers out of Mickey and the Doctor, with little luck. A noise outside made them all turn to the doors. A group of armed guards came striding in, and Pete greeted them in an official manner. They took stock of the situation, of the scattered unconscious people and the damage done to the laboratory. The man in charge of the troop shook his head in exasperation, whilst Pete was trying to explain the situation as best he could.

Mickey got up and stood in the Doctor's way. The pinstriped figure nearly knocked him over with his angry pacing – either because he didn't see him or simply chose to ignore him, Mickey didn't know. He held out a hand to stop him anyway. "Doctor, things are being sorted back there, Mrs. Slater will be gone – but what about Martha?"

A dark stare turned towards him. "What about her."

Mickey frowned and put his arm out to lead the Doctor a little away from the Joneses. "Well... how do we switch them back?"

"Mickey, if I knew that don't you think we'd have a way back ourselves right now?" The Doctor glowered at him, but Mickey chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, but the machine worked! Can't we... fix it? It did the trick once, can't we do it again?"

The Doctor finally turned to him fully and wiped a hand down his face, groaning. "Mickey, look at it, it's _wrecked._ And even if it wasn't, didn't you hear what Martha said? Rose used a giant amount of electricity on the other side to do... whatever she did, and it must've..." he gestured wildly and incoherently in the air, "I don't know, done something. The _connection_ is what we can't replicate. It's not like we can call Rose and go, sorry, love, can you do that again?" He'd worked himself up now, his voice rising. Mickey tried to placate him.

"But we have a lab, and the government on our side... surely _bog standard_ _electricity_ isn't gonna be the problem, right?"

The Doctor suddenly froze and his head snapped up. "Electricity... yes... Mickey, you're a genius!" He quickly turned, grabbed Mickey's head and planted a quick kiss on his forehead, before running off through the lab. Mickey stood, stunned for a moment. "Oh... good then..." he mumbled, shaking his head. He watched the Doctor assemble wires, tools and bits and bobs all over the lab, ignoring the weird looks he drew from their very exhausted looking colleagues.

Pete exchanged a look with him and nodded for him to join him. When he made his way over, he introduced the soldier. "Mickey, this is Commander Davies, he's here at the President's request. His team will take care of Mrs. Slater." Mickey and the man shook hands.

"We've been looking for her for a while now," he said, "under a different name, though. Good catch."

"I'm not gonna take all the credit," Pete said, "but..." he glanced back at Martha. "Will you excuse us for a moment?"

He led Mickey aside. "So... wrong Martha?" he merely asked.

Mickey nodded, and briefly looked around. He didn't want to raise any more peoples' hopes. "Pete... she was with Rose."

"What?"

"Just before she came here, she met Rose, and she was doing something to open the..."

As if on cue, the room suddenly exploded in a brilliant, white light. And a sound filled the air, a sound Mickey thought he'd never come to miss so much. A grating, and moaning and the most beautiful thundering of a machine echoed around the room. He could just make out the Doctor, standing in a pile of electronic junk, eyes wide open in shock. A wind seemed to rise and some of the people began holding on to furniture, and everyone now shielded their eyes from the brightness. The noise became deafening, almost as if the TARDIS had been amplified.

Then they saw her. The blue box materialised next to the ruins of the dimension cannon, and with a loud _thud_ , stood still. Everyone was completely frozen, staring at the box. Out of the corner of his eye, Mickey saw the Joneses holding on to each other in fear, whilst Martha had jumped up, looking incredibly relieved.

The Doctor had dropped whatever he was doing and strode towards his beloved ship. He ripped open the door to reveal... nothing. The inside of the TARDIS looked like that of any other police box would. Wooden, and definitely not bigger than the outside.

Mickey's joyous whoop stopped in his throat. The Doctor merely stared, open door in his hands. Martha, too, seemed shocked. She came forward and tentatively placed her hand on the wooden wall. "Wait a minute... I thought it was..." she looked at the Doctor. "It had an inside."

"Yes," he said darkly. In a few quick strides, he had surrounded the box, touching the wood, checking for signs only he knew. "But it's _her_ , I can tell it's the TARDIS... only..." He turned towards the open door again. The inside was cast into dark shadows. He narrowed his eyes, staring at something only he could see. "Wait a minute," he said, and took a step inside.

Martha let out a shriek and Mickey and Pete darted forward. The Doctor had disappeared. As if he had stepped through the shadows, the box had simply swallowed him up. Martha turned to them, determination on her face. "Is this it, then?"

"What?"

"This. Is this the portal? Back to my world?"

Pete gave her a worried glance. "I don't know. This... thing apparently has a mind of its own sometimes, so I wouldn't just..."

"What do you think?" Martha turned to Mickey.

"I dunno," he answered honestly. He was vaguely aware of Commander Davies ordering his men to stand down in the background. "He's right, but... the TARDIS usually knows what she's doing." He stepped forward. "I'll come with you. I have a Martha to find," he said and winked at the other Martha, who gave him a bemused smile.

"I see."

"Here goes nothin'," he said, and, mustering up any remaining courage, stepped forward into the TARDIS.

x

Rose awoke with a dull ache behind her forehead. Trying to pry open her eyes, she found she was once again on the floor next to the console. It was mostly dark, with only a few lights on the walls and monitors casting the room in a dim orange and red gloom. She heard a groan come from next to her, and soon saw Jack's face swim into view.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Uh..." Rose looked around and saw Martha struggling to her feet, apparently unhurt. "Everyone okay?"

"Sort of," the girl mumbled.

Jack helped Rose up and they took a look around. "Looks a bit burnt out," he observed. The console was smoking, bits of wire dangled out of it everywhere, and the time rotor was completely still. Slowly, Rose noticed another difference. The gentle humming at the back of her mind had gone.

"What's that sound?" Martha looked around the room, a slight panic tinting her voice.

"What sound...?" Rose managed, when they suddenly all heard it. A loud gong struck somewhere in the TARDIS, like a deep, reverberating bell. It began as a faint vibration in the air, then became louder and louder.

"The cloister bell," Rose whispered.

"The what?" Jack asked, but she'd already run up one of the walkways. She knew what to do, but would there be time? All around the strange, wooden walkway, cupboards and monitors and strange devices had sprung up, none of which she had had time to examine or understand. She knew the Doctor kept things all over the TARDIS – perhaps she'd wanted Rose to have everything in one place? If so, the thing she was looking for would be here, somewhere.

Jack ran after her. "What are you looking for?"

Rose rummaged through one of the cupboards, to no avail. "The cloister bell means danger. We need to find out where we landed, if we even landed anywhere, whether we got the bridge right –" she jumped to the next panel to search "– or whether we're stuck in the void or something... The Doctor had this thingy to..."

Suddenly, the panel in front of her slid close with a loud snap, nearly chopping her fingers off. She shrieked and stumbled backwards. A loud clatter could be heard around the room, as all of the cupboard doors either locked themselves or disappeared altogether. The ship gave a lurch, making both Jack and Rose nearly tumble over the side and down onto the platform. "Look out!" Martha called, holding on to the railing. The cloister bell rang louder than ever, the vibration making Rose's teeth hurt.

"Come on," Jack said and grabbed her hand. Together they ran back to the centre console. Rose tried to press a few buttons, but the console gave no sign of life. When she went to flip a switch, she quickly pulled her hand back. "Ow!"

"What now?"

She looked at her hand. "She... zapped me!"

"What?!" Martha immediately pulled her hands back from leaning against the machine.

Suddenly, loud stomping could be heard. It sounded like metal feet clanging on the floor with inelegant force. "Okay, what's next?!" Jack asked.

"B-but there's someone coming," Martha said. "How can there be someone in here besides us? Did... did your bridge thing work?"

"Uh..."

The stomping became louder still, and they all turned towards the corridor from which they heard it. A shadow of a figure fell against the wall, then the floor as it turned. The stomping stopped. A grating, gravelly voice rang out as it raised an arm. "Intruders detected. Delete! Delete! Delete!"

x

"Where the hell did they go?!" Martha's mother stomped over to Pete and mustered him with a dangerous glint in her eye. Leo was still ogling the TARDIS, his mouth slack-jawed. "You seem to be the one in charge," Francine stormed on, poking Pete in the chest with her well-manicured finger, "so you tell me right now: where is my daughter?"

"Well," he began, raising his hands in defense. "From what I can tell, uh," he cleared his throat. "Your... uh, actual daughter is probably safe and sound in the parallel universe, whereas her counterpart..." he glanced at the TARDIS. "I may not know exactly where she is, but I can tell you this much, this ship is usually the safest place in the universe."

"Usually?!" Francine's eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets.

Pete took another step back. "Well, Mrs. Jones, I am _not_ going in there to find out. We will analyze the situation from out here, and find a way to bring everyone back to where they belong." He gestured at some of his staff and they began to move towards several monitoring stations.

Martha's mother huffed and turned back. "If my daughter's in there, I am going to get her back." She strode purposefully towards the blue box, but her son held out an arm to stop her.

"Mum... the Martha that went inside the box was the _other_ one, remember? And we don't know what happens in there. We should..." he glanced at Pete, "let the professionals handle this, okay?"

Francine made to say something, but her mouth snapped shut again, a curious, surprised look on her face. She let herself be led aside. "Since when are you so reasonable," she muttered under her breath. Leo smiled and put an arm around her. "I'm sure we'll get her back safe. Whether or not they're the bad guys, they're in their element here."

Pete was about to say something, when Milton thankfully stepped up to the Joneses and offered to make some tea. That seemed to defuse the situation a bit – _trust in the known, the mundane_ , Pete thought. He turned back to the Commander, when suddenly, he was toppled off his feet by something lunging at him. All he knew was that he was grabbed by the legs and pulled aside, as everyone around him gave startled cries.

"Well, if you're not going in there to stop these alien parasites, I WILL," Mrs. Slater yelled triumphantly, heaving herself off the ground and darting towards the TARDIS with surprising speed. Several people seemed to yell "NO!" and propelled into action, but her sudden recovery had them at a disadvantage. Leo, standing closest, got a grab of her clothes, but merely pulled her tattered cardigan off her shoulders, as Mrs. Slater jumped into the TARDIS and disappeared.

X

Rose pushed herself backwards against the railing, Jack and Martha to either side of her. All of them were frozen in shock, trying to move away slowly towards the opposite wall. "Oh God, how can there be a Cyberman?! This is the TARDIS! _What the hell is a Cyberman doing in the TARDIS_?" Rose kept muttering, her hands shaking. What had she done? Had the bridge procedure not worked?

"Run," she whispered, and grabbed her companions' hands.

Nobody argued. They bolted across the console room down a random corridor, away from the metal noises behind them. They didn't look where they were going, just took corners and occasionally doors as they came. After what felt like ages, they slowed to a halt and leaned against a wall, panting.

"I think we're good, for now," Jack managed between deep breaths. He glanced at Rose, who'd been looking around the corridor they were in. A dark, wooden door in the opposite wall was the only exit to be seen. "How do you think the can-heads got in here?" he asked.

Rose turned to him, but hesitated a few seconds before she answered. "I... I don't know."

Jack merely raised an eyebrow, and she faltered. "Well, I..." she ran her hands down her face. "The void. We must be in the void. Perhaps the TARDIS... got stuck here or something, and..."

"And?"

"Well, last I knew, we sort of sent thousands of Dalek and Cybermen into the void and locked them in."

"Oh."

Rose crossed her arms and felt disappointment rise in her. "Yes, well, I was only turned into an alien, like, a couple of weeks ago, so _excuse me_ if I can't get some weird Time Lord math thing right the first time. I tried, okay?!"

Jack put an arm around her. "Hey hey hey, now nobody is blaming anybody here, right, Martha?"

Martha looked startled, but quickly managed a sort-of convincing, "Uh, right!"

"Right," he continued with a certain unbelievable cheer. "So, the most important thing is, how do we get back out of the void?"

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but he immediately interrupted her. "Oh and don't tell me you don't know. We have a space ship who likes us and you've got all that Doctor knowledge buzzing around in your brain, so there's got to be something we can think of. Ideas, people!"

Rose gave him a glum look. Despite all the supposed knowledge buzzing inside her, she felt as unimaginative as a door knob. She let out a breath. Jack had pushed himself away and was pacing the small corridor. "Okay, so the TARDIS usually shows you to a room that will help if you, uh, sort of think of it, right? Right. So we need to think which room might help us. Suggestions?"

Martha glanced around them. "Well, the lights all went off, maybe she needs a kickstart?"

Jack immediately whipped around and pointed at her. "Good. Excellent. Keep going."

Rose closed her eyes and tried to let everything that had happened pass through her mind again. There was something she was missing, surely.

Martha tried again. "We could check out that bell room, like you said? Maybe there's something in there?"

"Yes! Also, maybe in the library there's a..."

"She zapped me," Rose interrupted quietly.

Jack stopped. "What?"

"She wasn't being helpful. The TARDIS slammed all the cupboards in our faces, zapped me away from the controls and sent a Cyberman after us."

Jack frowned. He tried to say something, then stopped himself, then tried again. "Sent them? No! But... surely, she'd, uh, want us to get her out of here, right?"

"Do you think there's something wrong with... the ship?" Martha asked. She glanced warily at the ceiling.

Rose pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I vaguely remember something... this may be some sort of defence mechanism. Or something."

"Oh God, you mean the ship thinks we're... infecting it or whatever?"

They all drew a bit closer together as the knowledge sunk in. Somewhere in the corridors, they still heard the faint _Delete, Delete, Delete_ from the Cybermen. "I think we're on our own," Rose muttered darkly.


	17. The Heart of the TARDIS

Chapter 17 – Heart of the TARDIS

The Doctor stood inside the dark console room and took a deep breath. He let the feeling of being home wash over him. The familiar smell and the comfortable worn railings under his hands soothed him a little. Then he frowned. There was something missing – the time rotor was completely still, the usual hum gone. The Doctor went up to the console to figure things out. Everything was dead; the screens, the lamps, the beeping buttons… even the lights were off, with merely the glow of the emergency lamps bathing the room in an otherworldly sheen.

"Rose?" he said, at first quietly, and then tried again louder. Nothing.

Then he heard it. At first only faint, but getting slowly louder, then fading again. The cloister bell was ringing. His mind worked quickly. Rose must have used any power the TARDIS had to bridge the gap between the universes, and the ship was completely drained. She was nowhere to be seen, so something must have happened to make her leave the console room. The bell was ringing, therefore even in her current state, the TARDIS recognized danger. Also, it seemed to completely ignore the Doctor's return.

The Doctor spun around and began running. This was it, he was back, and he would find Rose and fix all of this. First her, then the TARDIS, and then everyone could go bloody back to their own bloody universe.

He ran down the corridors towards the sound of the cloister bell. Suddenly, he ran into a wall. "What?" he cried, and placed his hands on the wall. It shouldn't be there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar looking door materialize next to him. He approached it a little warily. This was the way down to the Cloister Room… usually. He opened the door.

He blinked, still holding the door knob, glancing back and forth between the corridor and the doorway. He was back in the console room. "What?" He angrily looked down the corridor again, only to see it disappear on him. He walked quickly through the door, which miraculously vanished as soon as he stepped back onto the platform. He sighed in frustration. The ship normally led the way, especially when you were in a hurry. Apparently not today.

He glanced around the room, only now noticing the subtle differences. Instead of metal, the platform looked wooden, and several wooden walkways led up to a kind of balcony weaving through the familiar coral struts. The console had changed too, it looked more out of one piece than it had before, when dangling wires and messy electronics had been its trademark. The Doctor slowly placed a hand on one of the new wooden pillars next to him, his mouth slightly opening in surprise. A delicate rose was carved into it.

There was no doubt in his mind now as to what had become of Rose. He felt a sharp pang of longing. The TARDIS, it seemed, had wanted to make her time on the ship feel more comfortable and had changed for her, just as Rose had changed for him. He gripped the pillar tighter and frowned. The Doctor took a deep breath and stepped up to the console.

The sonic screwdriver appeared in his hand and he scanned over the console until he found what he was looking for. A small port was hidden underneath a panel, and he gently placed his screwdriver in it. With a click, the machine began to hum and glow a little.

"Now do you recognise me, old girl?" he muttered. The screwdriver glowed. "Please," he begged, looking at the quiet engine. "I need to find Rose and find a way to help you both… but I can't do that if you bar my way. It's me, don't you know me anymore?"

Suddenly, he felt something. A nudge, barely a whisper over his consciousness, a very quiet voice in the darkness of his mind. The TARDIS whispered his name, his real name, into his mind. She knew. But she was so weak. Something had happened and she was using all of her power to defend herself.

"Don't you worry," the Doctor vowed. Confidently, he strode towards the corridor again, and soon broke into a run. There was no wall in his way this time.

X

Martha let out a breath she was holding. They were back. She and Mickey had stepped into the TARDIS together, and they were back in the familiar console room. There was no sign of the Doctor. Martha walked up to the console, where she discovered a faint blinking light.

Mickey looked around, his eyes wide. "Woah, she did a bit of redecorating!"

"What?" Martha turned around.

"Well, last time I was here," he said and stepped up to the platform, resting one hand on the nearest pillar, "this wasn't here, and it certainly wasn't so… natural." He felt something under his hand and traced the outline of a delicate carving. He sucked in a sharp breath. "It's a rose," he said quietly.

Martha only looked at him briefly, then studying the panels before her again. "Well, it looked like this when I first got on board. Mind you, I only got a quick ride and then was pulled over into your universe."

"Still can't believe Rose flew the TARDIS." Mickey gave a quick laugh. "Bet the Doctor never saw that coming."

Martha turned away from the console now. "Oh, what am I doing," she sighed. "I don't know what any of this stuff means." She glanced along the walls and the different corridors that seemed to lead deeper into the ship. "Where do you reckon the Doctor went?"

Mickey shrugged and jumped down from the platform to examine the nearest doorway. "No idea. Apparently the floor plan of the TARDIS likes to shift around, so you can never remember where anything is. However," he said, squeezing his eyes shut in concentration, "she can usually guess what you want and then takes you there."

"What?"

"Something Rose told me," he said, still concentrating. "The ship reads your mind."

Martha smirked and walked down one of the ramps to join him. "What are you thinking of, then?"

Mickey opened his eyes and grinned. "Rose. She'll know what to do. Come on," he said and took her hand. Together, they took off down the hallway before them.

x

Rose, Jack and Martha had been walking aimlessly through the corridors, choosing doors at random. They'd found the Doctor's study, Rose's room, a rather lavish bathroom and the wardrobe, but nothing useful was forthcoming. Martha was eyeing it all with undisguised amazement. Jack tried to lighten the mood by telling her some of the associated stories he remembered for each room, but the brief laughter from Martha quickly dissipated again in the face of the gloomy corridors.

Suddenly, Rose stopped dead in her tracks. She felt something tug at her awareness.

"Rose, what is it?" Jack walked up to her.

"Something changed," she said. Her hand reached out and touched the wall. "She's… not so afraid anymore."

She felt it under her fingertips and tasted it on the air. A presence slowly edged its way into her mind, and familiar warmth spread through her. In her mind, she saw, no, almost felt, a memory from long ago. Blue eyes, a bright smile. Someone taking her hand. " _Run_ ," a whisper rushed through her.

Martha and Jack touched the wall, too, but shook their heads. "I can't feel anything," Martha said quietly.

"Yes! yes, yes," Rose repeated with urgency in her voice. She began walking again, almost running, quickly down the hallway. She abruptly stopped at an intersection, looking down the similar corridors. She took a deep breath, like someone searching for a trail or a scent. "It's the Doctor," she said, her face erupting into a brilliant smile. "He's here."

"What?" Jack quickly looked down the corridors. "Where? How?"

"I don't know," Rose grinned. "But he's definitely on board. The TARDIS feels much more relaxed now. And I can…," she glanced at Jack, not wanting to say it. "Maybe now she'll help us…," her words trailed off as she heard something. She turned around to see a door open in one of the hallways. Everybody froze as two figures stepped through, looking around.

Rose's eyes went wide. "Mickey?"

He started, mirroring her expression. "Rose?"

"Mickey!"

"ROSE!"

He ran down the hall, and seconds later was in her arms. Rose held on tightly, tears rising in her eyes. "Oh Mickey, it's so good to see you!"

"You too, babe," he said happily, holding her head briefly in his hands, smiling brightly. "You all right?"

"I'm okay," she said, averting her eyes. This was not the time to go into details, she figured. Thankfully, Jack saved her from having to explain anything.

"Mickey Mouse," he scoffed drily.

Mickey let go of Rose and turned to Jack. "Captain Cheesecake," he said, equally serious.

Suddenly, Jack broke into a big belly laugh and held out his arms to Mickey.

"Heeey," Mickey laughed and they embraced. They gave each other hearty pats on each other's backs. "Good to see you've been keeping an eye on her," Mickey grinned. Jack shifted a little guiltily. He exchanged a glance with Rose, who was slowly shaking her head.

Before Mickey could question them further, though, a figure behind Jack stepped forward. "Oh my God," she whispered.

Martha was staring at Martha. The one who had come with Mickey was the one Rose recognized as "her" Martha Jones, from the hospital. She was still in her lab coat, so she guessed not too much time had passed in the other universe since she had been swapped.

The other Martha glanced around with wide eyes, and finally focused on Mickey. "Mickey," she said quietly, a relieved smile creeping onto her face. He came forward, looking relieved as well. Rose and Jack stepped back respectfully as the two of them wrapped their arms around each other. Rose smirked and looked up at Jack, who had an eyebrow raised, looking impressed.

"Seems like he did all right for himself over there," he quipped, and Rose smiled. _He had, indeed_.

'Hospital' Martha smiled, if a little bewildered, seeing them together. She had walked over to the group and glanced wryly at Jack and Rose. "This is toooo weird," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's like looking in a mirror, but then it's all wrong."

The other Martha let go of Mickey and grinned at him rather sheepishly before looking at her counterpart again. "Tell me about it," she said.

Jack, clearly not one to be left out, casually threw an arm around what he probably considered "his" Martha and grinned at Rose. "So, now that we're all reunited, there's only you to sort out, Rose."

Rose glared at him good-naturedly and turned to Mickey. "The Doctor, Mickey. Where is he? Did he come with you?"

"Well, you know him, first thing he sees the TARDIS, he jumps in. We followed him. Didn't see him again once we were in, though."

Rose threw Jack a triumphant look. "I knew it was him!"

"Rose," Mickey began, hesitantly. "What exactly did you do? The TARDIS just kind of… appeared, but it looked, well," he floundered. "She looked different. Like, when we looked inside, it was just a box. But when the Doctor went in and disappeared, I thought…"

Rose frowned, trying to think, trying to figure out how to explain, when suddenly, they heard a stomping from behind them in the hallway. "Delete, delete," the metallic voices rang out.

"Crap, they caught up," Jack said. "Run!"

x

The Doctor brushed his fingers lovingly over the robe. It was fluffy, big, and very pink. He had bought it for Rose on one of the first markets they visited, back when he was still all ears and grumpy. But when she hung on his arm that day, chatting about everything and nothing, he knew he was in trouble. He of course had scoffed at her for her love of all things pink, even though he secretly thought the colour suited her just right. She had been completely unaffected by his derision, as if she knew that he was only putting it on. That he was merely trying to not let her get to him.

But oh boy, had she gotten to him.

The robe still hung over the foot of her bed, where she had thrown it after a no doubt very long and steamy bath in one of the huge, lavish bathrooms the TARDIS had suddenly developed. For hours afterward, the smell of flowers, lavender and coconut would waft through the corridors, driving him mad with very inappropriate thoughts about his companion's lovely soft skin and freshly washed hair.

He sighed. When he was in the other universe, he had berated himself mercilessly for never making a move. He had told himself: it had been so easy to ignore the longing and to pretend she was merely a passenger, to pretend things could always stay the way they were. But thinking back, he now admitted to himself that it hadn't been easy at all. Quite the contrary. He had just gotten so used to being under pressure, having everything in the universe under control, that he'd sort of missed out on the fact that he didn't need to be like that with her. And just when he'd realized that, she was gone.

He picked himself up from her bed and turned back toward the corridor. He didn't even need to be in her room to feel her golden presence all around him. She was here, somewhere. He had followed the doors the TARDIS put in his way, hoping to find his way to the cloister bell, or even better: the heart of the TARDIS. If he could get there, he was sure he would see what exactly had happened; he could try and fix it. And perhaps, Rose would think along the same lines.

He walked swiftly down the hallway, when he suddenly heard a voice that made his blood run cold. He stopped in his tracks before an intersection and flattened himself to the wall, his hearts beating furiously. The voices came closer. He could feel cold sweat on his brow.

"REPORT!" the first voice ordered in a screeching, metallic bellow.

"THE TARDIS IS WITHOUT CONTROL!" screamed a second voice.

"WHAT ABOUT THE VOID?" came the first voice again. The Doctor now saw them. Two big, metal pots slowly glided through the hallway, their eyestalks turned ahead, obviously unaware of him. He tried to still himself as much as he could.

"SCANS INCONCLUSIVE," screamed the second Dalek. "WE ARE IN THE VOID. WE ARE NOT. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RUPTURE IN SPACE."

"WE WILL ESCAPE," the first Dalek screamed in triumph. "WE MUST WIDEN THE RIFT, SO THAT ALL DALEKS CAN EMERGE. WE WILL TAKE BOTH UNIVERSES FOR THE GLORY OF THE DALEK EMPIRE! FIND THE CENTRAL COMMAND ROOM!"

"I OBEY!" was the last thing the Doctor heard from them as their metallic encasings rumbled out of sight.

He let out a slow breath and let his shoulders sag a little. Things were becoming clearer now. Rose had created a bridge between the universes. He knew it was theoretically possible, but incredibly dangerous. She wouldn't have been able to control the sheer force of it, and the Daleks were proof. They had been trapped in the Void before, and…

Suddenly, another shock cursed through him. They hadn't just trapped all the Daleks, they'd trapped the army of Cybermen with them. And if they both had discovered the bridge, and been drawn to it like a moth to a flame, they would surely try to get control of the ship. He had to beat them to it.

He turned into the opposite direction to where the Daleks had gone, and broke into a run, silently begging his ship to lead him.

x

"Do you know where we're going?" one of the Marthas yelled from behind.

"No?!" Rose shouted back, slightly annoyed. Who cared where they ended up, as long as it was away from the Cybermen.

Mickey was right beside her, and Jack was bringing up the rear. Nobody else said anything as they barrelled breathlessly through the endless halls. Rose glanced to the side and saw the look on Mickey's face as he looked back. She was startled to realise that, all of a sudden, she was the authority amongst them. She sometimes forgot and was almost amused by it. She had always been the companion, running by the Doctor's side. Now, her companions were running by hers. She had to make the call.

She slowed down a little and half-closed her eyes. She thought intently of the Doctor, of his reasoning and strength. Where would he go? Where would he try and fix things? The console room was obviously no help, but… yes. She opened her eyes again and turned towards the wall. A door had appeared out of thin air.

"This way," she said and stepped through quickly. The others followed.

The door opened into a copse of small fruit trees. They walked a few paces and reached the border of the orchard. Rose looked around. The 'room' appeared to be a lovely open-space garden in perfect sunlight and smelled like spring.

Jack looked around and blinked in the sudden bright light. "Lovely day," he said drily.

"We need to get to the heart of the TARDIS," Rose stated and looked back at him. "See if you can find another wall."

He frowned. "I thought the heart was in the console room."

"Yes, partly," Rose said, absent-minded. "But not really. That was only a glimpse. I think we need to find the Eye of Harmony."

"What's that?" Mickey asked.

"It's what powers the TARDIS," Rose said, coming to a stop next to an apple tree. "An exploding star, suspended in time. The Doctor once explained it a bit." She looked around, looking for any indication that this 'room' would end.

Both Marthas looked around in awe. The one in the lab coat, 'hospital Martha', as Rose had dubbed her, plucked a leaf from a bush and felt it between her fingers. "It's so real," she said, staring at it in disbelief.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "It is real," he said with a furrowed brow. "But why the old girl created this place is anyone's guess."

The other Martha was holding Mickey's hand, Rose noted. She gave him a crooked smile. "I can kind of see what you were talking about, "she said.

"Yeah, well, I don't know myself sometimes," Mickey shrugged. "I was on board for a while, but I never even saw this… room, or whatever it is."

"We had a picnic here, once," Rose said wistfully, her hand on the bark of the tree. Jack softly squeezed her shoulder and smiled. Her mind wandered back to that particular 'date'. Rose remembered teasing the Doctor about it, trying to get him to admit it was, in fact, a date. He finally became so evasive and moody that she dropped the subject. They'd both known at that point that she wasn't actually joking and that he really didn't want to talk about it.

She sighed. She had learned a great deal since then. For example, instead of pressing him about definitions, she should have simply used the good mood of the sunny day to surprise him with a kiss. She felt a lot more confident these days and knew he wouldn't just kick her out once she made her feelings known. That had always been her biggest fear – trying to gain something and ending up losing everything. But now, things had changed. She had taken a step too far, and her time was running out. She had told him she loved him. Now she only hoped she could tell him once again before the power inside her consumed her. She felt her double heartbeat burn like a reminder in her chest.

Suddenly, Jack turned away from her, cocking his head. "Do you hear that?" He took a few steps down the path.

Rose frowned and pushed herself off the tree to follow him. The others listened intently as well. Then, she heard it. The faint ringing of a bell.

Jack turned to Rose and raised an eyebrow. "The cloister bell?"

"I think so, but," Rose began and walked on a bit further. "It seems to be coming from within, from in here," she said hesitantly.

The bell wasn't ominously ringing through the corridor walls as if it permeated the entire ship. It sounded rather like it was coming from just behind the next turn in the path, like a church bell in a small country village.

Jack beckoned them onwards. "Come on," he said, grinning.

x

After a few minutes' walk, the small party climbed the crest of a grassy hill. From the top, they could see a dip in the landscape, not big enough to be considered a valley. Verdant trees grew around the centre of the basin, and a small brook could be seen between the blooming plants. It ran by a tall building in the very center that looked like an ancient temple of sorts. It had white marble pillars all around, a domed ceiling, and ivy crawled onto the slightly weathered stone in many places. It was this building that the sound of the bell came from.

Rose and her companions made their way down into the small valley, carefully scanning the landscape around them. But there was no sign of any intruders in this paradise, yet.

As they got closer the temple structure, the ringing of the bell became almost unbearably loud. Conversation had ceased, anyway. Even though they tried not to, everyone kept glancing at Rose, to see what she would do. Only Jack seemed to be a little bit more proactive, with his TARDIS experience, but after walking around the entire building and not discovering anything of note, he simply held out his hand and gestured for her to take the lead.

Rose stepped into the cool shade of the marble pillars. It smelled of dried flowers and wet grass, and something very TARDIS that Rose couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Was this always here?" she whispered to herself, her words drowned out by the bell.

The others followed her as she made her way through an open doorway into the inner chamber of the temple. The floor was of white stone, and the central room was surrounded by white arches. Green plants and vines grew all over, and dried leaves cluttered the ground. In between the arches, small marble benches were set for the weary traveller. The light was dim, and it would have been a lovely place if not for the incessant noise.

Rose could not see an actual bell anywhere. She looked at the ceiling and raised her voice. "All right, we're here! We heard you!"

Suddenly, the building rumbled. Jack quickly darted outside, as everyone grabbed hold of a pillar. The place shook again, as if hit by weapons. Jack ran back, his suspicions confirmed.

"Daleks!"

"WHAT?!" Rose yelled at him.

"Don't look at me, it's your space time thingy brigde!" he yelled back, and called for the others to help him. They grabbed hold of one of the benches and dragged it towards the entrance.

Rose turned around, looking for anything she could do. They were running out of time. There had to be a lever, a button, even another door. Something was wrong with the TARDIS and now not only the Cybermen but the Daleks too had found their way from the Void into the ship. She had to get rid of them, and fast.

"Rose!" another voice shouted, almost barely audible over the noise of the bell and the shooting.

She spun around and gasped, holding her breath in shock. Her eyes widened. Across the room stood the Doctor.

She ran towards him and only saw his sad look a second too late. When she should have crushed into his body, she ran only through thin air.

 _Oh not again_ , she thought, her heart sinking in despair.

She spun around and noticed that his image was warped, almost cracked, like a damaged hologram. His voice hardly reached her.

"Doctor!"

"Rose! I'm so glad to see you! But we've got to hurry! The TARDIS is starting to fall apart from the stress of bridging the Void!"

"Oh God, Doctor, I am so sorry, I didn't know what to do," Rose stammered, and felt tears rise to her eyes.

His face softened immediately. "Rose, you were brilliant! I could never have expected you to do so well on your own! But only you can fix this!"

He suddenly looked over his shoulder in panic, and Rose saw flickering shadows behind him, even as on her part of the cloister room, the shooting noises were getting louder and Jack's shouting more urgent.

"How? Tell me what I need to do!" she shouted desperately at the image of the Doctor. He was getting more and more disrupted.

He turned back and fixed her with an intense look. "Rose, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I don't know. You've got control of the TARDIS, you made this work. Not just through en equation, but through force of will. Do this now. Focus. We need to get you to the Heart." He looked over his shoulder again, his voice growing frantic. "Find the Heart. You can fix every... you just... touch.." his voice faded and his body disappeared.

"NO!" she shouted and stretched her hands into nothing.

"Rose! We've got incoming!" Jack shouted, just as one of their makeshift barricades blew up in a shower of rubble. Rose vaguely noticed her friends diving out of the way, but part of her had already begun.

 _Focus._

She raised her hands. Instead of trying to ignore the noisy cloister bell, she opened her mind to the rhythm of the strokes. She let the booming chimes become her very being, until her heartbeats and the bell were one.

 _Show me_ , she commanded. _We need to save them. We need to save you._

She slowly withdrew into her mind, seeking out the connection to her TARDIS.

 _Remember your Wolf,_ Rose whispered into the open clearness of the bell. _Open for me._

And she did.

x

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. Behind him, he heard the Daleks screaming, blasting down half of the cloister room. He had nowhere to run. Unless Rose did something – anything! – right now, this was it. His shoulders slumped. Once again, he felt like he had abandoned her. But there was nothing he could do. The TARDIS was becoming more and more of a shadow of herself. He understood now why she hadn't recognized him immediately. She was so busy trying to keep it together.

A giant blast burst through the far temple wall.

"IT IS THE DOCTOR!"

"THE ENEMY OF THE DALEKS!"

Three metal abominations hovered in through the rubble.

"EXTERMINATE!"

Suddenly, a bright, golden light shone from the centre of the room. A smile crept up on the Doctor's face.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"HE IS TRYING TO TRICK US! DO NOT LET HIM ESCAPE!"

But it was too late. The Doctor sprinted towards the light as it grew and enveloped the room. Everything about it radiated Rose. He felt no longer afraid.


	18. From the Brink

Chapter 18 – From the Brink

All around the Doctor was bright, thick fog. The noise of the Daleks, the shooting and crashing of the temple vanished in the instant he stepped into the light. The fog felt cool on his face, and he could breathe normally, he noted. The light seemed to be coming from all around him, rather than a specific light source. He knew Rose must have opened the gateway to the Heart of the TARDIS, but was this it?

 _Rose._

He tentatively took a few steps. His feet made no sound on the floor, not that he could even really perceive a floor, for that matter.

"Rose?" he asked, his voice steady. She had to be here.

His breath did not disturb the fog. Everything was frozen in place. He walked on further, but had the strange sensation that he was going nowhere. He thought for a moment, closing his eyes. He could not rely on his normal senses in here, it seemed. His eyes deceived him and his ears told him nothing. He turned inwards now, towards his finely honed time senses. He reached out with his mind, looked for the strands of possibilities that he knew from being around Rose. Even if she had changed, there still had to be...

Suddenly, he shuddered, as a feeling of warmth and affection washed over him. He felt goosebumps rising on his arms and the hair at the back of his neck stood up. He began moving again, without thinking, meandering through the fog, following the feeling he had missed so much.

And there she was. Out of the bright twilight stepped a figure bathed in golden light, the possibilities swarming around her like tendrils of fire. The Doctor opened his eyes and saw Rose, his fantastic Rose, reach out for him. His breath caught in his throat. Without hesitation he took three more long strides and scooped her up in his arms.

For minutes that seemed to stretch out for an eternity, they just stood there. There were no words. Her face was pressed into his shoulder, breathing deeply; her hands clung fiercely to him, her nails digging into the fabric of his back. He gently held her, absent-mindedly rubbing circles on her back. He took in the scent of her hair, her skin, her entire being. Only now did he really comprehend how she had been missing in his life. It felt as if a gaping hole had finally been filled again.

Rose's chest was pressed up against him and as their breathing became slower, he finally noticed the difference. Her double heartbeat was in synch with his own, drumming heavily and reminding him that she... Cold realization washed over him. He gently moved back a little and took her head in both hands. The golden light had vanished, and he could see her properly now. Her beautiful eyes radiated that sweet melancholy mixture of incredible happiness mixed with sadness. Some tears had fallen silently down her cheeks.

He brushed some hair out of her face and searched her eyes. "Oh, Rose. What have you done?"

"What I had to do," she said softly. Despite the situation, just hearing her voice made his hearts jolt with happiness. She was in his arms, at least for now. He gently brushed away a tear with his thumb, and his other hand wandered to her shoulder.

Rose was standing so close he could feel her breath on his skin. Her arms held him in a gentle embrace and she met his eyes steadily. "I had to get you back. I couldn't leave you there, not while there was something I could do," she whispered.

She spoke with such conviction that it nearly broke him. "Oh Rose...," he whispered, feeling his heartbeats accelerate. All the feelings once held back came flooding through him in full force. He remembered every sacrifice she'd made for him. He remembered every lonely night he'd spent thinking of her in the parallel world and every vow he had made during the small hours of the morning. He owed her to be honest with himself, and with her, at last.

His arm slid around her back and pulled her closer. For a second, her eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat as she realised what was happening. This sound alone drove him to distraction. Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his touch. His hearts nearly exploded in his chest. He whispered her name before their lips met.

Something simply burst in his mind and he could feel al of her, all at once. Her soft lips, her smell, her skin, the small moan at the back of her throat. His knees became weak and he tightened his hold on her to steady himself. She pulled herself closer to him, deepening their kiss, dissolving in his embrace. A sound of longing escaped his chest, which only made Rose press into him more.

Suddenly, through his closed eyes, he perceived a golden light that grew brighter and brighter. Rose seemed to become warmer under his very fingertips. He ran a hand through her hair and gently held the back of her head as their kiss became more intense. One of her hands wandered to his chest, brushed aside his jacket and past his neck to caress his face. Her hand left a tingling sensation on his skin that only made him want her more. Suddenly, when her fingertips brushed his temple, he gasped. He felt her mind tentatively seek out for him, whispering in his consciousness. Some part of him realized that she'd never done this before and could probably not really comprehend what this meant, what it was she was doing.

A less rational part of him argued that Rose Tyler knew exactly what she was doing.

It really wasn't a choice at this point. He was hers, body and soul. He let his own mental hold slip and reached out for her. Their minds met, at first slowly, testing out this new connection. Gently, he reached out and thought, _Do you know what this means?_

 _Yes. For as long as we still have._

He nearly choked as tears threatened to rise. Their kiss broke off, and he was dimly aware of her forehead resting against his. They were both breathing heavily, each of them holding the other's temples between their hands. Seeing her inside her mind, he finally felt exactly what was happening to her, sensed her desperation as she felt her own life slipping away.

He made a decision. He let her walk into his mind with no more barriers in the way. If he had once been worried about what she might find there, he was not now – if anyone belonged there, it was Rose. In response, she opened up to him and embraced him fully. He pulled her consciousness closer and finally, when they became one, he told her his name.

 _I love you, Rose Tyler,_ he managed, willing her with all his hearts to see the truth for herself.

Suddenly, with a loud gasp, Rose pulled away from him. He opened his eyes to see her head fall back and her arms drop. Her mouth was open and her eyes stared up, unseeing. A bright light shone from her eyes, her body, everywhere around her. Rose's legs slowly gave in and she began slipping, so he held her tightly, supporting her whilst looking around. The fog around them cleared and he finally saw where they were: in the Heart of the TARDIS, as he'd hoped. Above them, the enormous exploding star hung suspended in time, the Eye of Harmony. The light from Rose expanded into the space around them, upwards towards the Eye. It became so bright, the Doctor had to look away and close his eyes, yet he never let go of Rose.

A loud pulse like a thunder erupted from above, and he felt his breath pushed from his lungs. The force pushed him to his knees, and he cradled Rose protectively in his arms. Shielding her with his body, he felt a shockwave roll over him, and he crouched down further, holding his breath.

Then, there was silence. He took a breath.

Suddenly, shouts erupted around him. "ROSE!"

"DOCTOR!"

He felt people stir and rush towards them, and opened his eyes. They were back in the centre of the cloister room. The bright light was gone. His hearts sagged in relief, but before he could say anything, he heard a loud, triumphant shriek from the other side of the room.

Mrs. Slater stumbled forward from behind a ruined pillar, brandishing a knife.

"There he is! You're the alien responsible for all this! I will not allow you to threaten humanity any further!" She raised her arm to strike and dashed towards him and Rose.

x

Jack, with the help of one of the Marthas, dropped another bench on the pile of broken pillars and quickly ducked behind the wall again. Dalek shots were raining down on them, already cutting away at the poor defences they'd set up. The cloister bell's incessant ringing was grating on his nerves, and the god-awful screaming of the Daleks wasn't helping. He saw Mickey dart around the room, trying to move other pieces of stone or find anything that might help them. He turned to look for more benches, when he saw Rose stop, then run awkwardly halfway across the room, holding out her arms, only to stop abruptly again. She turned around and seemed to look at something that wasn't there and to be holding a frantic one-sided conversation. Jack was about to go over there to ask what she was doing when another volley of shots peppered the wall next to him. He quickly darted aside, but saw half of the wall slowly give way.

The others all ran towards the barricade and he quickly helped them to hold up one of the pillars that threatened to tumble down. Another barrage hit the top bench and it came bashing down to the ground. Mickey gave a small scream as it missed him by a hair.

"Rose! We've got incoming!" Jack shouted over his shoulder. He saw her out of the corner of his eye, standing very still in the centre of the room, as a light seemed to be growing around her. Golden tendrils of light manifested around her form, and her hair began to lift from her shoulders. This time, she did not hold it back. The light enveloped her and she raised her arms like a goddess, willing the whole mess to stop. He fiercely worried about what this was doing to her, but at this point, she was their only hope.

And then she disappeared.

"Rose!" Jack shouted, just as the pillar gave way in his arms. Mickey grabbed one of the Marthas and jumped aside as the pieces of rock fell away. The other Martha ducked away underneath Jack's arms and he covered her whilst they moved quickly to the sides.

"EXTERMINATE!"

Jack got goosebumps as the memories of his last real death flashed before his eyes. The shrill sound of the Dalek weapons was suddenly the only noise. The cloister bell had stopped ringing, leaving his ears throbbing in pain.

"Jack!" the Martha next to him shouted. He looked up and saw the wall crumble and the Dalek voices come closer. "We need to get out of here!"

"Come on, let's get to the other side," he said and grabbed her hand. They ran along the wall towards the other side of the room and he saw Mickey and the other Martha do the same. They ducked behind the two large pillars, breathing heavily. One glance around the room showed him the shadows of Daleks moving into the room.

One yelled at them. "ALLIES OF THE DOCTOR! SURRENDER!"

"NEVER!" Jack shouted immediately.

Martha next to him rolled her eyes. "No bargaining with these guys, I gather?"

"Nope," he said, ducking out of the way of the first shots raining at their paltry cover.

"Where's Rose?" Mickey shouted from behind the other pillar.

Jack just shook his head, unwilling to elaborate on what he thought was happening whilst the Daleks were listening.

This was it, he realised. He was out of ideas. He leaned over to Martha and closed his eyes briefly, then regarded her seriously. "I'm... sorry."

A small smile appeared on her face. She took his hand. "We all did our best," she said quietly. He held her hand tightly and smiled back, just as the first Dalek rounded the pillar next to them, pointing his deadly ray gun at them. Martha closed her eyes and ducked into Jack's arms.

Suddenly, a pulse of force shuddered through the building like a shockwave. A deep sound of thunder barelled through his body, and the Dalek in front of them paused long enough to look around.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?"

"REPORT! REPORT!"

But none of them had the chance to. Jack watched as before his very eyes, the Dalek simply faded from existence, screaming all the way. He looked around the pillar and saw the same happening to all of them at once. The shockwave still radiated throughout every fibre of their surroundings, making his chest hurt.

Suddenly, as quickly as it had started, it was over. The Daleks were gone. The rumbling had stopped and the absence of sound felt heavy on his ears. A piece of bench dislodged from the sorry remains of their barricade and crashed noisily to the ground, making them all jump.

Mickey sighed and got up and helped his Martha to her feet, looking around. Suddenly, he shouted, "Rose!" and stared at the centre of the room.

Jack spun around and saw them. "Doctor!"

The Doctor was kneeling on the ground, cradling a seemingly unconscious Rose in his arms. He held himself protectively over her, breathing heavily. When they called to them, he looked up quickly, relief spreading on his face.

Jack, Mickey and the Marthas all started forward, smiling. But just when things seemed to be in order, a sharp shriek sounded through the silence.

"There he is! You're the alien responsible for all this! I will not allow you to threaten humanity any further!"

Jack saw a rugged and worn middle-aged woman running forward from the broken doorway, holding up a knife, murder in her eyes.

Jack didn't have to think. He sprinted forwards to throw himself protectively between the crazy lady – whoever she was – and his friends. Unfortunately, the Martha who had been with Mickey was closer to her and hadn't seen him run. Mickey reached out as Martha tore away from him, yelling "NO!" and throwing herself at the older woman. She rugby-tackled her to the ground, and the two of them went down in a heap, yelling and wrestling for control of the knife.

Mickey and Jack immediately ran to her aid and tried to pry the two apart. Suddenly, Martha shrieked in pain just as Jack finally tore the woman off her. He yanked her arms back, the pressure making her drop the knife. Martha fell back on the ground where Mickey kneeled and held her. He raised his hand and gasped. It was covered in blood.

"Martha, hang in there, just stay still, yeah?"

Martha sucked a breath in between her teeth. She had a nasty looking stab wound in her side. Blood was quickly soaking up her thin clothes and began pooling on the ground. "Oh this is not good," she muttered, assessing the damage. She sounded faint. The other Martha ran forward, having picked up her lab coat.

"Okay, oh God, this is weird. Right," she muttered, scrunching up the coat. She pressed the fabric onto the wound and turned to Mickey. "Hold this down tightly," she said quickly and kneeled down on Martha's other side. "Hold her up!" She finally looked her parallel self in the eyes and touched her face. "Martha, look at me. Don't close your eyes. Stay with us," she implored. But her eyes slowly fluttered closed. "She's in shock," Martha yelled, looking around for anything that might help them.

The woman Jack held laughed in triumph. "You're... you're trying to trick me with this... this... impostor! This CLONE," she shrieked manically. "But I know the truth, ha, ha," she gasped. "I killed you, you idiotic woman who consorts with..."

Jack had enough. He quickly pulled out the gun he still carried and socked the woman soundly on the back of the head, knocking her out. He dragged her off a little, giving Martha space. He saw that she was trying her best, but Jack had seen enough to know that the young doctor was going to lose this fight for her doubles life. He swallowed against the lump in his throat as Mickey began begging Martha to do something, anything to help.

Suddenly, his attention flickered back to the Doctor and Rose, who were still huddled on the ground a few metres away. Rose was conscious, but the way the Doctor held her hands, the way she glanced at him with glassy, fading eyes, the tears that ran down his face... Jack felt his heart turn to ice. Had they won the day only to lose two lives?

x

The Doctor held Rose gently, feeling her getting weaker and weaker. Crazy Mrs Slater had been dealt with, he noticed that much, and silently thanked Jack for being there. He heard someone get injured, but it was all faint and unimportant to him. He felt as if his entire being was wrapped up only in one thought.

 _Rose is dying._

 _Rose Tyler sacrificed herself to get me back and now she is dying._

"Rose," he whispered. "Why did you do this? When all of it just means that you're dying? What's the point of me being back if you're not here?"

He'd never usually talk like this. He'd just shrug it off and travel on, alone. But she hadn't. He had said the last words so quietly that he was sure Rose couldn't have heard him. But her eyes fluttered open and she smiled weakly.

"Universe… needs you," she muttered, looking faintly pleased despite herself. "Had to."

The Doctor held her hand and felt her grasp slacken in his. He gripped her a little tighter. "Rose, don't let go! Stay with me!"

"It was good…" she said and smiled. "Being you. I got to see… world through your eyes." Her breathing became more and more laboured. In his mind, she slowly let him see a few memories from the last weeks, see how she felt throughout her ordeal. It nearly broke his hearts.

The Doctor noticed Jack approaching. The Captain kneeled next to him, giving him some space, yet staring at Rose, tears in his eyes. "I tried to help her, Doctor," he said quietly. "But what she did… it's too much. She told me so right from the start."

The Doctor brushed some hair out of her face and she leaned her cheek into his palm, sighing quietly. There were no words needed, as her consciousness calmly continued to brush his own, just wanting to spend these last moments as close as possible.

"She turned herself into a Time Lord," the Doctor said. "It didn't even occur to me that the TARDIS could do that."

Rose smiled again. "You should… talk to y' ship more," she wheezed and began coughing.

The Doctor looked up at Jack and they shared a look that told him all he needed to know. If there was anyone who understood that he'd gladly give his life to save Rose, it was Jack. The man who regenerated and the man who couldn't die were helpless in the face of death.

Suddenly, he felt a slight shiver go through him. _Wait._

He looked at Rose again, the fire in his eyes rekindled. "Rose, hang in there! I won't let you die, not today!"

He looked at Jack. "She had the entire Vortex inside of her. So did I. She revived you with it… there's gotta be something the three of us can do!" Jack's eyes lit up and he nodded once, grabbing Rose's other hand. "Whatever you need, Doc."

The Doctor released his mental connection with Rose and sought out the TARDIS instead. _Come on, old girl, you saved us all many times over and made this possible,_ he pleaded. _The Captain here has life enough to spare and so do I. Take it. Save her. Do whatever it takes. She deserves better than this, and you know it!_

He felt a certain anger rise hotly within him. He would not give up, whatever it took. He closed his eyes and focused all his strength on Rose. He felt Jack right next to him more keenly than ever, the fixed point radiating impossible off of him in waves. Perhaps it would help.

Suddenly, faintly but growing more clear, there was a song. A sweet, sad melody brushed through his mind, a tune he remembered as the last thing burning through him in his last body. He heard Jack gasp and knew he heard it, too. The TARDIS was responding, and he realised in that moment that the ship had always had the power, the abilities, to do so much more than he or the other Time Lords had guessed. His upbringing so long ago and all the convoluted rules of Gallifrey came back to him, reminding him that back in those days this would have never been allowed, let alone thought of. The taboo of what he was asking his wonderful sentient ship to do was so ingrained; it hadn't even occurred to him before that it was all theoretically possible.

The melody was all around them. The Doctor opened his eyes to see Rose glowing with a golden light. She shimmered like she did when she became the Bad Wolf, his glorious goddess of Time. Her hair began to float around her like a halo, and her face seemed to lose some of its pallor.

The Doctor felt Jack twitch, and faintly perceived Mickey crying out in surprise behind them. Suddenly, he gasped as a pain shot through him. He felt his heartbeats accelerate and sweat gathered on his forehead as his temperature increased. His hands were warm and tingled where they touched Rose's skin and she stiffened and gasped as the energy pulsed through their bodies. Her eyes snapped open and she found the Doctor's eyes, searching his face, unsure of what was happening.

Then her eyes widened as they both felt the TARDIS hum reassuringly in their minds. The glow abated, and the melody slowly faded. Rose blinked, then took a deep breath. "Doctor," she whispered. "I'm okay, I think… I…" she stammered and a grin slowly spread over her face. The Doctor let out a happy laugh and gathered her in his arms, even as he felt his chest constrict painfully. She hugged him tightly, but then noticed him shudder. Rose pulled her head back and sat up slowly.

"Doctor, what happened?"

"Oh, nothing," he said with another gasp. "I think she really likes you." He gestured to the wrecked room at large.

"Doctor," Rose said with a slight warning.

"Right, yeah," he said, sighing. "She did what I asked her to." He clutched his chest. "I gave up a regeneration for you," he added quietly after a moment.

Rose's eyes went wide. "You… you can do that?"

"Apparently," he said with a small smile.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Are you… hurt?"

"Nah," he grinned, leaning forward gingerly. "I'm fine. I had… a spare, I guess you could say," he said a little more seriously.

"Thank you," she said, sounding somewhat unsure how to respond to this.

He gently cupped her cheek again with his hand and stroked her skin gently with his thumb. "Hey, you just gave your life to get me back. I'm so glad I got to return the favour," he said quietly and sincerely.

Rose smiled gently and nodded. "Alright."

He was about to lean in to kiss her when Jack gave a discreet cough. Rose laughed and sat up to give him a quick hug. The Doctor merely rolled his eyes at their friend.

"Don't you scare me like that again, Rosie!" Jack squeezed her tightly.

"I'll try," she grinned.

Suddenly, they became aware of someone sobbing in the background, and Jack let go of Rose immediately. They turned around only to see Mickey and Martha, the latter still covered in blood, sitting on the ground, holding each other's arms in support. They were alternating between sobbing and laughing, Mickey staring in utter disbelief at her midriff. There was no wound; she was totally fine.

Between them, the other Martha sat with wide eyes and bloodied hands, muttering and staring at her doppelganger, then at her hands. She looked like she was about to be sick, so Jack quickly got up and went over to steady her. He pulled her upright and led her towards the open doorway, away from the others, talking to her quietly.

Largely unaware of this, Mickey finally grabbed hold of 'his' Martha and kissed her soundly. She first seemed startled, but then her arms slid around him and she reciprocated in what quickly became a more passionate snog.

"Oi, get a room," the Doctor shouted, but he was grinning at this point.

His attention was reclaimed, however, when Rose picked up the end of his tie and began slowly pulling him closer. "Or," she drawled, a golden sparkle still in her eyes, "we could make the most of the situation. Now, where were we?"

He did not need to be asked twice.


	19. Reunions and Farewells

Chapter 19 – Reunions and Farewells

When Rose finally let go of the Doctor, she took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and there he was still, all brilliant smile and teary eyes. She grinned and spoke softly. "Come on."

He nodded and pushed himself up, giving her a hand. For a moment, Rose felt dizzy from getting up and touched her head. That was when she noticed that the dull ache she had been living with for the past weeks was gone. She tentatively touched her temples and face, almost waiting for any random touch to hurt. But she felt fine. In fact, she felt better than she ever had. The only time she'd felt like this was when…

"Rose, are you all right?" The Doctor asked quietly. He frowned and looked her up and down, whipping out his sonic screwdriver.

She stopped his hand. "I'm fine," she said. Then she frowned back at him. "How about you? I mean…"

He scoffed. "Oh, you know me… hard to get rid of."

Rose took a step back and turned around, laughing a little. She rubbed her hands down her arms, feeling the life flow through her body stronger than ever. She noticed that the wrecked room of the cloister bell was empty now; Mickey and Martha weren't around. All that was left was a messy bloodstain on the ground where she had nearly died. Or had she accidentally brought her back to life like she had Jack? Her mind was buzzing with questions and worry.

Rose turned back to the Doctor. "Man, we are a piece of work aren't we? We both nearly died and… with all that's just happened, _we're fine_? I even sound like you now. Mum said that once," she added quietly as an afterthought.

The Doctor's face brightened again and he took her hand. "She missed you. Come on."

Rose just nodded softly and let herself be led away from the battered cloister room.

Outside of the small temple the valley looked beautiful as ever. Some damage had been done by the invading armies, but it could not quench the springtime calm of the small valley. Rose looked at the broken pillars next to the door.

"What do you think happened?" She glanced at the Doctor, holding his hand as they clambered over the rubble.

"Weeell," he began, and she immediately remembered how much she had missed that. "It seems that the TARDIS created a bridge between the two universes - with your help," he added, cocking an eyebrow at her. "The corridor across the Void was frail and must have torn in a few places, drawing the Daleks and Cybermen like moths to a flame."

Rose sighed, looking a little guilty. "I… I felt like I was using all the energy I had, and it still wasn't enough."

"I know," the Doctor said. "Your Martha told us about the Judoon and the lightning storm. Brilliant idea, by the way," he grinned. "From what I reckon, the TARDIS did all she could but… well, the Time Lords used to keep an eye on these sorts of things, but they usually had trained people with several TARDISes at their disposal to fix anything that went wrong. You did it alone," he marvelled. Rose blushed a little.

A shout ahead made them turn. Jack was sitting with Mickey and the two Marthas on the small rise underneath some fruit trees. Rose smiled when she saw them all well and alive. They made their way up the grassy hill and the Doctor noted that Mrs. Slater was tied up and gagged neatly, lying a few feet away in the grass. He went over to glance at her, but noticed she was still unconscious.

"Don't worry," Jack said. "I have my ways to keep her under until she's somewhere safe. What the hell did she want, anyway?"

The Doctor decided not to comment on the fact that Jack randomly kept equipment needed to sedate and tie someone up in his pockets and merely raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Slater, or whatever her real name is, was working against Torchwood in the other universe," he said slowly. "Must have jumped into the TARDIS after I left. She felt very… strongly about the presence of aliens on her world."

"That's putting it mildly," that world's Martha scoffed with a small laugh.

Rose walked over to her, lowered herself to a crouch and examined her closer. Mickey had his arm around Martha and straightened as she approached. "Hi," she said with a small smile.

Martha smiled back. "Hi. I'm fine," she said quietly.

"I know," Rose said, staring at her blood-soaked top. She slowly shook her head and caught Martha's eyes. She looked over at Jack, to compare. A now familiar buzz assaulted her senses. He felt all kinds of wrong, fixed and unmovably anchored in time. It gave her the chills. She looked back at Martha and noted no such reaction. "Good," she said with a nod, now grinning at her. At least she hadn't messed that up again.

Mickey studied her face. "Are you all right?"

Rose grinned and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Yeah," she said softly. Mickey grinned back, looking relieved.

She began to get up, but Martha grabbed her hand. "Rose… thank you."

Rose sighed. "Not sure what exactly I did, but… you're welcome."

x

Finally, the small troupe tore their gaze away from the beautiful valley and began walking back to the path between the orchard trees. Jack was carrying Mrs. Slater over his shoulder, walking next to 'hospital' Martha, bragging about some of the adventures he, the Doctor and Rose had experienced together. Martha seemed to love it, soaking up the distraction from all that had been weird that day. She even laughed at all of his jokes, Rose noted with a grin. Oh boy.

Mickey walked arm in arm with 'his' Martha. Rose wondered what the story was there. She looked at the Doctor, who was walking next to her, holding her hand. "Doctor," she said. "How much time passed for you?"

He looked down and sighed. "A few months?"

"Wow. It was only a couple of weeks for us," she said, nodding at Jack.

"You spent a lot of time with Jack?" he asked, curious and perhaps trying to hide it a little.

Rose smirked at the hint of jealousy as she ducked underneath a branch. "Yeah. I'll tell you all about it and his new… job later."

He smiled softly back. "Okay. We have all the time in the world," he said, squeezing her hand gently.

Rose felt a shiver go down her back. _He might be right about that…_

x

The walk through the TARDIS was quiet and calm. The ship was glowing softly. Rose felt her reassuring hum at the back of her mind and had no doubt that the Doctor felt it too. But when they got to the console room, something had changed. Rose jumped up to the central platform and gasped, glancing to and fro at the two sides of the room. There were now two entryways, one on either side. The others examined them quickly, and when one of the Martha's stuck her head out of the door, there was a squeal of voices on the other side. She quickly ducked back in and glanced at her counterpart. "I think this is your lot," she stammered and moved out of the way.

Martha's mother and brother quickly stuck their heads inside the ship, gasping, only to retreat a moment later as their real daughter stepped out to meet them. They could hear excited voices from outside. Rose quickly followed them with the Doctor and Mickey, glancing back to Jack. He sighed to Martha and readjusted Mrs. Slater on his shoulder. "I'll be right back," he smiled ruefully and moved over to the door, unceremoniously tossed the woman into someone's arms and returned. "Okay, all done," he said, looking at Rose. "I'll stay with Martha until you return."

Martha seemed relieved at that – probably more than a little shaken by the knowledge that her parallel family was out there. Rose nodded in thanks, and felt happiness bubbling through her again. She needed to see her mother. She almost ran out of the ship into her waiting arms, barely taking in anything else.

"Oh sweetheart," was all Jackie managed before they both dissolved in sobs, holding each other tightly. Rose breathed in her mother, felt the comfort of her arms and let herself feel like a child again for a moment. Now, everything was all right again.

She hazily noted in the background that the Doctor greeted several people and got a slap on the back from Pete. Martha and Mickey were talking with Martha's family, and some soldiers in the background carried the unconscious Mrs. Slater out. Pete said something about "reporting to the President" and stepped away to make a phone call.

Jackie pulled her a little to the side and glanced her up and down. "Are you all right? Oh! I thought I'd never see you again! But that daft alien was working day and night on gizmos here and there, an' suddenly all hell breaks loose when that bloody phone box appears," she rattled on. Rose merely laughed and enjoyed it. She'd missed her, really.

"I'm fine," she finally reassured her mother when she took a breath. "I've been through some things, but… I'm okay now."

"Really?" Jackie rubbed her hands down Rose's bare arms. "You feel cold! You should put a jumper on, you'll catch something!"

Rose grabbed her mother's hands in her own and squeezed them. "Really. I think…" she sighed. This was it, she thought. Her mum deserved to know.

"Mum," she began. "Remember when you said… that I wasn't even human anymore?"

Jackie's eyes widened. "Oh sweetheart I didn't mean it like that, I was just angry," she said quickly.

"I know," Rose reassured her. "It's fine, it's just… I had to learn how to fly the Doctor's ship to get back to you. I kind of… changed to do that."

Jackie gasped and her lips moved a bit before she brought out, "changed how?"

Rose tried to smile at her mum, even as tears threatened to fall as she realised what this meant. "I think it was dangerous to me, it was killing me, even; but then the Doctor found me in the TARDIS and, well, he saved me. He used up one of his… lives," she swallowed, trying to find the words to make this make sense to her mother, without going into too much detail. "He gave one up to save me."

Jackie's eyes glanced over to where the Doctor was, then back to Rose. "Oh my God, and you're okay? Both of ya?"

"Yep, we're okay," Rose said again, taking a deep breath. "But… I think it changed me for good now."

Jackie just stared at her, frowning. She didn't understand. Rose let out the breath slowly and raised her mother's hands up to her chest, placing one hand on each side. At first, Jackie frowned, but then her eyes widened again and she pressed her palms a little closer to feel it.

Rose's tears fell freely now and her mother's followed. Once again she found herself crushed in a bear hug. That was how she knew that her mother understood. Because for once, she was at a loss for words.

After a while, Jackie pulled back and wiped away some tears, keeping one hand on Rose's shoulder. She brushed through her hair affectionately, smiling, and straightened her t-shirt a little. Rose smiled at these little things mothers did, no matter what age their daughters were. Suddenly, Jackie let out a small sob, but she was smiling.

"Rose, darling… I'm pregnant."

"What?! Oh my God, mum, that's brilliant," Rose cried and hugged her mother once again. Jackie laughed, even as a few more tears spilled. Hope filled Rose's hearts as she considered this. Her mother wouldn't be alone. She'd have Pete this time around, and they were well off enough to see them through anything. She felt happy.

Alerted by their emotional scene, Pete, Mickey and the Doctor came over, tentatively stepping closer.

"I'm guessing you told her," Pete smiled and placed a hand softly on Jackie's back. She leaned into him a little and smiled.

Rose grinned widely. "Yeah. It's brilliant," she managed. She felt the Doctor come closer and grabbed his hand for support.

Mickey stepped up to her. "So… I'm guessing you're going back, then," he said, meeting her eyes. Rose sighed heavily, trying to swallow some of the tears and getting a grip. "Yeah," she said quietly. "We've got to."

Jackie released another sob at that and Pete tightened his arm around her. Rose looked at them, her parents, back together… she felt her tears once again rise and realised that she was not going to get a grip anytime soon.

She looked again at Mickey, who was smiling ruefully. "I thought we'd never see you again when I left last time, and then we did, and then you were gone for good, and yet here we are again, saying goodbye." He grinned a little and nodded at the Doctor. "If he says that we can never see each other again, this time I really won't buy it."

Rose laughed and simply stepped forward to hug Mickey tightly. He held her briefly, then let go. "So you're staying, then," she asked.

He glanced over to Martha. "Yeah. Got a good life here," he added, blushing a little when Martha smiled.

Rose grinned. "I'm happy for you," she said, and she meant it. "You'll do great here."

"You take care of her now, you hear?" Mickey pointed a finger at the Doctor. "After all that moaning and moping, you better make the most of this," he said, and Rose stifled a laugh when the Doctor flushed, looking a bit uncomfortable. Mickey winked at Rose and then walked back to Martha and her folks.

Rose looked at Pete and Jackie. "Mum, I…"

"It's all right," Jackie interrupted her. "You… you're right where you need to be." She stepped closer to her again. "I knew. Right when you ran off with this one, I knew. She's never gonna settle and be normal, I said."

Rose chuckled. "Thanks, mum," she muttered.

"It's just," Jackie searched for words. "I'll miss you, Rose," she said.

"I'll miss you too, mum," Rose whispered, and hugged her tightly once again.

One of the women wearing a lab coat who'd been hovering with the rest of the staff, Rose assumed, was quickly coming towards them now. She glanced quickly at all of them before her eyes settled on Pete. "Uh, Mr. Tyler, um, the, uh, president is on her way to… check out the situation," she stammered, glancing again unsurely at Rose and the Doctor.

Pete sighed. "I'll be there in a moment, Cho, thanks," he said.

As the young Asian woman turned, the Doctor quickly called out, making her jump. "Hey Cho, thanks for everything," he said gently, and left it at that. Cho seemed to understand, but flushed furiously before she turned back and hurried away.

Rose smiled up at the Doctor. He seemed to really have made an effort to get along with people here during her absence. He looked down and smiled back.

Pete stepped forward. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," he said. He hugged the Doctor quickly and slapped his back. "I agree with everything Mickey said. Go. Be happy together," he added, sounding a little exasperated. Rose smiled and wondered once again what it had been like for them, living with a cooped up Doctor for months. "I better catch Harriet before she stumbles into this… mess," he said, gesturing to the brightly glowing TARDIS. "Any chance you could…?" he asked, looking at the Doctor.

 _Harriet?_ Rose thought, and shook her head in surprise, but the Doctor distracted her from asking about it. "Yeah, we had better go," the Doctor admitted. "Rose," he said gently. "We need to leave. I'm not sure how long the bridge will last like this," he added.

Rose wiped away another tear and nodded. She turned to Pete, looking a little sheepish. "Well… I know you're not really my dad, but," she began, but before she could go any further, Pete stepped up and hugged her quickly.

"I'd be proud if you were," he whispered into her ear. Rose felt a jolt of happiness, his voice reminding him of her encounter with her dad in her past.

As he let her go he gave her a serious look. "I'll look after them, I promise."

"I know," Rose said, smiling. "You're a good man."

He straightened up at that and nodded.

Jackie turned to the Doctor now, who immediately flinched. She grabbed the front of his jacket and looked him square in the eyes. "Do I have to say it?"

"I will never, ever leave her, Jackie, I promise," the Doctor said earnestly.

"Good. And if you do, so help me I will find out and find a way back to you just to slap ya," she said menacingly. Despite her tone, the Doctor smiled. "Remember what I told you," Jackie added, and Rose thought she'd never seen her mother and the Doctor so on the same level. She shook her head in surprise. Jackie hugged the Doctor tightly and Rose was even more surprised to see him hug her back. Curious and curiouser. Rose saw Pete hide a grin when he noticed her expression.

Jackie turned to Rose again. "Sweetheart, you take care of each other, yeah?"

"We will, mum," she said, and hugged her again.

"Don't fight, and if you fight, make up properly afterwards," she lectured. Rose grinned as the Doctor blushed.

"Don't worry," Rose winked, and her mother gave a little watery laugh. She glanced at her belly and smiled, then kissed her mother on the cheek. "You'll be amazing, Mum. You were with me," she added, and Jackie sobbed and hugged her again.

Rose quickly pulled away now. "I gotta go now," she managed, grabbing the Doctor's hand.

"Yeah," Jackie managed, even as Pete put an arm around her.

Rose and the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS, and stood in the doorway for a moment. Pete, Jackie and Mickey came closer to see them off, with a wide-eyed Martha next to them.

"Oh sweetheart, just be safe, be happy," Jackie called.

"I love you, Mum," Rose managed to smile, trying not to let her last moments together be just tears.

"Take care, babe," Mickey said, grinning. Pete merely nodded, looking somewhat content.

"Thank you all," the Doctor said. "Thank you for helping me find my way back home," he said, his voice emotional. He grabbed Rose's hand as he glanced at the assembled staff and their family.

"Well then," he added, a bright smile lighting up his face. "Allons-y!"

Rose took one longing look before she nodded, turned around, and let the doors fall closed behind her.

x

Back in the TARDIS, Rose brushed away the last of her tears and tried to gather her thoughts when she saw them. A laugh escaped her and the Doctor merely sighed loudly. "Oh come on," he huffed, but she saw him smirk a little. Martha was sitting on the jump seat, with Jack leaning over her, kissing her passionately.

Rose laughed even more when she noticed that Martha was blushing furiously and tried to break the kiss, only to realize that Jack had no such intentions. The Doctor loudly cleared his throat and strode around the console, pulling various levers which Rose was pretty sure did nothing. She grinned and walked over to the two. "So, uh, you guys wanna pick a room, or shall we drop Martha at the hospital off first?"

Martha blushed even more at that and jumped off the seat quickly, pushing Jack away. "Oh God, the hospital! Is it still on the moon?!"

"Nah," Jack waved her off. "Just after you got switched, the Judoon reversed it. Should be back safe and sound."

"With an unexplained blue box in the MRI, which, oh God, is probably fried," Martha observed, her hands on her face as it all came back to her.

Rose put a hand on her arm and gave her a smile when she lowered her hands again. "Hey, it'll be okay. We'll drop you off and… just let someone else deal with the unexplained box and the MRI, okay?"

"Sounds like an idea," Martha said and laughed a little uncertainly.

"Thank you for helping us. It meant a lot," Rose added quietly.

Martha smiled and glanced at the Doctor. "Maybe… when things are sorted out," she said, tentatively, "come and visit again?"

Rose smiled brightly at her. It felt good to have a few friends left on Earth, after all. "You bet," she said. "Oh, give me your phone," she said quickly. "Doctor?"

He strolled up, his sonic screwdriver already out. "At your service," he smiled. Martha raised an eyebrow but dug out her phone from her coat. He quickly gave it a quick whirl with his sonic and handed it back. "There you go," he said. "Got our phone number, if there's ever any trouble with, you know, aliens and such like," he grinned. "Also don't worry about phone bills anymore."

"What?" Martha's eyes went wide.

"Weeeell," he said and ruffled his hair. "Not sure what it would look like otherwise if you do call us," he mused. Rose chuckled.

"Hey, what about me?" Jack said, holding out his phone with his signature teasing smile.

"Oh, all right," the Doctor grumbled, glancing at Jack uncomfortably. He grabbed the phone and repeated his 'jiggery pokery'.

"And don't you give me that weird look," Jack said with raised eyebrows. "It was bad enough with just Rosie here," he winked at her. "We'll talk about that, someday, all right?" Jack pointed his finger at them. "Properly. Come visit me!"

Rose stepped forward. "Yes, we will," she promised. She threw her arms around Jack, who quickly scooped her off the floor and twirled her around. Rose laughed.

"You were magnificent! You did us all proud, Rosie," he said, and then quickly kissed her full on the lips before lowering her down.

The Doctor quickly handed him his phone back. "All right, all right, don't make me change my mind."

Jack winked at him. "I like this new body. It's cheeky."

Rose saw the Doctor smirk a little. "So, back to Cardiff for you, then?" She asked nonchalantly, glancing at Martha.

"Uh," Jack ran a hand through his hair. "I think I'll make sure Martha gets home all right, you know." He stepped over and put an arm around her shoulders. "She's been through a lot and she really shouldn't be alone right now." His face was utterly serious. One second later, both Martha and Rose broke out guffawing loudly.

"What? What?" Jack complained.

"All right, _Captain_ Harkness," Martha said pointedly, "but you can buy me dinner first. I'm starving. Come on!"

Rose was still grinning as they staggered off towards the other door, listening to them banter all the way out into the hospital. "Call us!" She threw after them, and Jack looked over his shoulder once more. "Will do, gorgeous," he called before he closed the door.

The Doctor let out a small huff of air and looked around. "Right! We should probably snap the connection and take the TARDIS into the Vortex for now. Care to do the honours?"

Rose pulled herself away from the door. "Sure." She jumped back up to the platform and hesitated a moment before she began handling some of the controls. The Doctor went to the opposite side to flick some levers. A shudder went through the TARDIS as the familiar wheezing echoed through the room. The duplicate door to the parallel world disappeared, and Rose looked at it until she could no longer see it. This was it, she mused. Her mother was safe on the other side, and she would be happy. And she and the Doctor would be off through time and space again… together.

"All right," the Doctor said, and let out a long breath. "That oughta do it! Atta girl," he smiled and patted the central column which was glowing softly. He looked at a screen next to him. "The corridor is safely dissolved and everything looks as it should," he concluded. Then he looked over to Rose and a silence settled between them. Rose felt small and awkward all of a sudden. She almost couldn't meet his eyes. She toyed with some of the levers in front of her as he came sauntering around the controls, his hands in his pockets.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah. M'fine," Rose muttered, still not meeting his eyes.

The Doctor stepped a little closer. "She'll be happy, Rose. She's got Pete and Mickey there with her."

"I know," Rose said in a small voice. She cleared her throat. "I know that."

He reached out and gently swept some hair away from her face. His fingertips brushed her cheeks and Rose sighed, closing her eyes briefly. She allowed herself a deep breath, just basking in the knowledge that he was here, alive and well, and touching her in a way he never had before. Before she could think about it, a melodic string of sounds passed her lips quietly, and she felt the Doctor's hand shiver as he caressed her face. He probably hadn't heard anyone say his name out loud in a long time.

Rose opened her eyes slowly and looked into his and her breath hitched in her throat. She had only dreamed that he might one day look at her like that. "Rose Tyler," he whispered. Then he smiled a little crookedly. "One more thing before…" he quickly cleared his throat and a little blush crept on his cheeks that Rose found absolutely adorable.

"Just to make sure… Infirmary?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Rose nodded, smiling, and took his hand. He pulled her down a ramp towards a corridor and they made their way silently towards the TARDIS medical bay. Rose felt her two hearts thump in her chest, as images from her dreams came unbidden to her mind and made her blush. _Before what?_ she thought. Suddenly, the Doctor tensed in front of her and glanced back. He stopped and his lips parted as if to say something, but then he thought better of it, and pulled her along a little faster. Rose smothered a grin. She supposed she needed a little work on the accidental telepathy in the future. Although… it might also be fun, she thought fiendishly. The Doctor straightened up and cleared his throat noisily again as they finally reached the right door.

Inside, Rose hopped up onto a medical bed and dangled her legs over the side. The Doctor rolled over a small mobile tower with screens and wires attached to it and sat down on a small stool in front of her. Rose thought she would now undergo a series of strange alien tests, and giggled when the Doctor pulled out a simple stethoscope first. He raised an eyebrow and gave her a little smile. "First things first," he said and placed the resonator against her chest. He kept holding eye contact with her, and a second later, as he moved the resonator over to the other side of her chest, a small smile crept across his face. He took the earpieces out slowly. "I wasn't sure I imagined it," he said quietly, smiling at her gently. "I still can't believe it."

Rose let out a breath she'd been holding. "Me neither," she almost whispered.

His eyes became more serious and he searched her face. "But you feel fine? Really? No strange headaches, no shortage of breath, no…" he broke off, unsure what to say.

"No, I feel fine," she said. "Better than fine, actually. I feel really… fit," she laughed a little.

A teasing grin spread on his face. "You are fit," he growled, and Rose let out a laugh at his open flirting. This was definitely new. New and amazing.

The Doctor pulled over the mobile tower and got out some cables and his sonic screwdriver. "Okay, but we should be certain, just to be safe," he said.

"Doctor," Rose finally managed. "Am I… like you now? I mean, do you think I might… regenerate one day?"

His face became a little more serious and he didn't answer immediately. He attached some wires to her arms and one to her chest, then ran the sonic up and down her body. He sighed heavily in anticipation as he checked the readings on the small monitor on the tower.

Rose chewed her lip in worry. The Doctor ran his hand through his hair and ruffled it a little. Rose's hand twitched, eager to do the same. Another unbidden image came to mind and she felt a pleasant shiver of anticipation run through her. The Doctor tensed and looked back at her, taking a deep breath. "Ooookay, whatever happened to you, we definitely have to work on some mental discipline," he brought out, sounding a little strained.

"Oh? Why?" Rose said with an innocent smile. He grinned and shook his head with a meaningful look, but turned his attention back at the screen.

"Well," he began. "Biologically speaking, you're still kind of human, but you also have most of the characteristics of a... well, of a Time Lady."

Rose's breath hitched in her throat. She'd known, of course, she'd known right away, but it was something else to have the Doctor confirm it.

"How did it… did the TARDIS do that? But when she changed me the first time, it felt… well, she said I might not survive the change."

The Doctor looked at her, his eyes a little pained, then back at the screen. "To be honest with you, I am not entirely sure. The thing about Gallifreyans is that we got our… unique characteristics from being exposed to the Time Vortex from a young age. I've heard of members of other species becoming Time Lords or at least biologically similar through experiments with the Vortex, but those were only rumours." He searched her eyes. "The TARDIS has this way of rewriting my DNA to mask my biosignature – perhaps she did something similar to you. That in combination with my regeneration and…" he placed a hand gently on her chest, making Rose's hearts flutter. "And a little something left over from when you looked into the Vortex… perhaps that was it."

"The Bad Wolf," Rose whispered and swallowed heavily. "I remember it now."

The Doctor's eyes flickered in pain again. "I should have told you."

"Yeah," she said, but smiled. "But I understand why you didn't."

He quickly removed his hand and took a deep breath. "So… I guess we'll know when it happens. But until then, Rose, I think… we'll have a lot of time together," he gave her a crooked smile. "Time Lords can live for hundreds of years, even a thousand, before they become what you'd consider... old."

Rose smiled and choked back some happy tears. "I promised you forever," she managed.

"I should have known to take you at your word," he grinned teasingly. "If anyone would find a way to turn the universe upside down to make this happen it would be you."

Rose laughed a little, but chewed on her lip again in thought. "So what about the… telepathy thing?"

The Doctor's gaze suddenly gained something, something she had only glimpsed once in the past hour or so. His eyes were practically… smouldering. Rose blushed at the undisguised ardour she saw in his look. She heard his breath hitch a little as he took her hands.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but…" he began slowly, "what we did in the Heart of the TARDIS… I told you my name. It's part of what my people consider bonding."

Rose couldn't breathe. "Bonding as in…" She swallowed thickly and felt her face become hot. Oh God, she hadn't really been in any state to think rationally if he wanted this. Romance was one thing, but…

"I think I understood, but I didn't really think about it, if you…" She stopped herself, feeling royally embarrassed now.

He quickly shook his head and laughed. He stood from his chair and caressed her hands, leaning in a bit closer. "Trust me, Rose," he whispered in her ear. "If I didn't want this, I wouldn't have told you my name."

He pulled back and Rose felt excited and relieved at the same time. She smiled at him, and leaned over a little to finally kiss him again, when he held up a hand to stop her. "Ah, one more thing. It's only fair seeing what you've already gone through."

He slowly dropped to one knee and Rose felt as if she was going to explode with happiness. The Doctor's chocolate brown eyes looked up at her and she finally saw it all, no more holding back.

"Rose Tyler. I should have told you so many times. I love you, with all my hearts. Will you be my wife?"

Rose felt another few tears fall as she grinned at him widely. "Yes. Of course I will!" She jumped down from the medical bed, right into his arms as he got up. He laughed and picked her up, her arms around his neck, twirling her around happily. Finally he stopped, and Rose felt dizzy as his face was suddenly so close to hers. "My Doctor," she whispered as he closed the distance between them.

Their lips melded together perfectly and bliss spread through her body, making her head swim. Everything became a bit of a blur as they continued to explore each other, hands running down each other's bodies in hungry exploration. She barely noticed him lifting her up to the medical bed and standing between her legs to get closer. She managed to somewhat consciously pull down his suit jacket from his shoulders and felt him groan against her mouth. She finally ran her hands through his ruffled hair, pulling his head closer against her. She made a longing sound and felt the Doctor respond in kind. At some point, when she thought she'd die if she couldn't get any closer, she tried to wrap her legs around him, but he was quicker. His arms suddenly swept under her knees and her back, picking her up and cradling her to his body. He swiftly made his way out of the infirmary and Rose had to laugh as they suddenly found the large dark wooden door to his room directly opposite in the corridor. Kicking open the door, the Doctor never took his burning gaze off Rose. She felt a shiver go down her spine and sent a silent thank you to the TARDIS as the Doctor carried her to his bed.


	20. Epilogue

Chapter 20 - Epilogue

 _ **This is it! Thank you all for hanging on to this story and the time it took me to finish it. I love all of your reviews and they kept me going. Now just a little epilogue for you - I hope you like the cheesy ending! ;-) Love, Julia xxx**_

x

Jackie Tyler was fidgeting with her dress as they quickly walked into the back of the registry office. They were late, seeing as Tony had thought to throw his cereal over her perfect dress shortly before they'd meant to leave. Now she was wearing one that was lovely as well, but didn't go with her original colour scheme. She sighed heavily and reminded herself that only a few years ago, she wouldn't have even been able to afford one of the dresses, let alone two. Pete gestured to a couple of empty seats in the last row. He sat down the toddler he was carrying on the chair between them as Jackie sat down. Tony made a few happy noises and dangled his legs and Jackie shushed him quickly. She ruffled his soft red hair affectionately, but looked up when she saw that the registrar was ready to begin. Silence settled over the room as he began to speak to the couple in front of him.

The ceremony went by quickly, and towards the end, Pete stood up to take a few photos.

"I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, Martha Jones, may not be joined in matrimony to you, Mickey Smith."

"I Mickey Smith, do take you, Martha Jones, to be my lawful wedded wife to love, respect, and cherish, as long as we both shall live."

Jackie clapped along with everyone, and sent a loving thought to Rose, wherever she was, hoping that she was just as happy.

x

Rose closed the TARDIS door and walked back up the ramp. They'd just dropped off Martha back home and she felt exhausted. "Just a quick trip to see Shakespeare live," she accused, pointing at the Doctor. "What could possibly go wrong?" She laughed.

"Oi, how was I supposed to know? Trouble seems to follow you, my dear," he added with a wink, before putting the TARDIS back in flight.

"Me?" Rose laughed. "Oh, no, I think it is you who keeps attracting trouble, and you know it," she teased.

"And still you married me," he said, making a happy noise in his throat when she stepped into his embrace.

Suddenly, Rose felt her stomach lurch. First she thought it was the TARDIS' flight, but then she felt it again. She tore herself away and ran to the infirmary, finding the sink just in time. The Doctor found her a minute later washing out her mouth and moaning slightly. "Perhaps I need to lie down," she muttered, feeling positively seasick.

The Doctor, however, stood in the doorway, his sonic screwdriver pointed at her with wide eyes. He looked at whatever he'd been scanning and swallowed hard. Then a bright smile slowly spread across his face as his eyes seemed to tear up.

"What?" Rose asked, a little fearfully. But whatever else he wanted to say was put out of her mind as he crossed the room and hugged her fiercely, before peppering her entire face with kisses, one hand gently stroking her belly.

x

Ianto called out to Jack through the cavernous Torchwood hub. "You have a visitor."

He sounded a bit cautious, Jack noted, but he guessed that was only natural with newcomers. Or perhaps only with newcomers who happened to be gorgeous women. However, he felt elated as he saw Martha Jones stand in the entryway, glancing around in open astonishment.

"Cool base, Captain," she said, laughing as he came running up to her.

Jack swept her off her feet and gave her a bear hug, then kissed her squarely, which made her giggle. " _Doctor_ Jones, isn't it now? Welcome to Torchwood! Oh, I missed you."

"I missed you, too," his friend laughed. "How come you only ever call me when there's an alien threat?"

"Cause you're good with those, or should I rather say, UNIT is good with those. Congrats on the new job!"

"Thanks, but I'm not sure it's all on merit. Someone must have put in a good word for me."

"Speaking of a certain someone, they visited recently, and I've got some stories to tell, too. Hey, let me take you out for dinner and we can share," he winked, and led her out of the hub again, under the questioning and astonished looks of his friends.

"What, what is it," Martha asked as they ascended the steps.

"Oh, let's just say they've got a new travelling companion," he grinned.

x

Rose Tyler was sitting in the doorway of the TARDIS, dangling her legs out of the door. They were wide open and she glanced at the colourful galaxies stretched out before her, feeling profoundly peaceful. Although that may have had less to do with the beauty of the universe at this point and more with the fact that the tiny being nestled against her chest was finally sleeping. She gently ran a finger down the baby's cheek.

Behind her, the Doctor came closer as quietly as he could, and sat down next to her. His jacket was off, his first few shirt buttons undone and his sleeves were rolled up. He sighed contently as he put an arm around her. "Tomorrow, you do the cleaning and I feed him," he whispered.

"Be my guest," Rose whispered back, smiling. "But I think Jack likes me best." She gently swayed the bundle back and forth in her arms, looking at the little face with a warm feeling in her hearts.

The Doctor hummed happily. "Can't argue with you there," he smiled and pulled her closer. "He knows what's good, of course."

Rose smiled and let her head sink to her husband's shoulder. She felt her eyes fall slowly closed in contentment, and let the hum of the TARDIS slowly lull her to sleep.


End file.
